A Whole New World
by Evesyface
Summary: A story of friendship, love and new beginnings. Following the tragic plane crash of 8x24, Callie is left a widow while Mark and Lexie attempt to rekindle their epic love. Teddy Altman is assigned the new Chief of surgery, replacing Owen Hunt. The lives of Callie, Mark, Lexie and Teddy will never be the same.
1. The Aftermath: An Introduction

"No, it's not true." Mark Sloan clenched his fists in frustration, "Robbins can't be dead."

Jackson gently moved a chair from the corner of the room and placed it next to Sloan's bed, taking a seat. His palms were sweating as he debated whether or not to reach out for Mark's hand. He didn't want to be the one to break the news to Mark, but since Lexie and Derek were both still patients in the hospital as well, Chief Hunt decided he was the next best thing.

"_Plastics Posse_ and all, right Avery?" Hunt had stated more than he asked. Before Jackson could answer, Hunt was running out the door to another trauma, "What have we got?!"

Jackson didn't stick around to hear what kind of surgeries he would be missing out on. Instead, he made his way to Mark's room. When he entered, Mark had been sitting upright with a big smile on his face.

"Avery!" He exclaimed excitedly, signalling to the chair in the corner of the room, "You've come to see your partner in plastics crime?"

"I'm pretty sure we don't actually commit any crimes." Jackson frowned. The tension in the room was only apparent to him. He was the one with the bad news.

"What's the deal, Avery?" Mark was no longer smiling.

* * *

><p>Meredith lingered by the door of her sister's hospital room. Lexie's eyes were closed. She had been asleep for the past few hours – Meredith knew this because she had been pacing the halls outside of her room for the same amount of time. Cristina sat against the wall, reading a magazine.<p>

"I can tell her for you, Mer." Cristina offered, not looking up from the magazine in front of her.

"No," Meredith responded, leaning against Lexie's door. "I'm her sister. She should hear it from me."

Cristina shrugged her shoulders and continued to read, occasionally laughing at the misfortune of celebrities, "Do people actually care about this stuff?"

As Cristina continued to laugh, Lexie's eyes began to open. Meredith rushed to her side as Cristina stood up abruptly, watching through the window.

"Where's Meredith…?" Lexie's voice was soft and slow. Her face reflected sheer terror as she suddenly shot up, "Mark, where _is_ she?! I'm not leaving without her!"

Meredith grabbed Lexie's hand and squeezed it hard, "I'm right here, Lex."

Lexie turned to face Meredith as she relaxed back into her bed, "Oh, that's a relief." She breathed, shutting her eyes again. Meredith released her hand and took a seat next to her bed. She knew that if she didn't get the news out now, Lexie may fall asleep again.

"Lexie, I need to tell you something." Meredith moved her chair closer to her bed and reached for her hand again.

"Mmm?" Lexie responded, keeping her eyes closed.

"Arizona didn't make it."

_Silence. _For a long moment, no one said anything. Lexie's eyes stayed shut. Cristina watched anxiously – even though she would never admit she was anxious – from outside. Meredith was holding her breath.

"Does Mark know?" Lexie's voice was cold and hard. It was nothing like her usual friendly, high-pitched voice. Meredith turned to face Cristina, a look of confusion spread across her face. She had expected waterworks. She had prepared for waterworks. Cristina opened the door and made her way to the other side of Lexie's bed.

"Jackson is telling him now."

Meredith and Cristina exchanged worried expressions.

* * *

><p>Jackson had planned to turn to leave as soon as the news was out in the open, but Mark's voiced sounded so pained that instead he turned to find a chair to sit on.<p>

"Where's Torres?"

As Mark spoke her name, Callie turned up outside his door. Her mascara had run all down her face and she continued to sob onto Teddy Altman's shoulder. Teddy shot Mark a sympathetic look as she held Callie against her. Mark looked on with a pained expression. He shot Jackson a quick glance before he tried to get out of his bed. Jackson reacted instantly, pushing him back down. Mark struggled violently, causing Jackson to call for help. Teddy and Callie watched on from outside the room.

"He needs you in there." Teddy said in an authoritative tone.

Callie shifted her eyes in the direction of Mark's room. She watched as he struggled against Jackson and the nurses. She started to cry more, wishing that she could go in there.

"The second I go in there," She explained between sharp sobs, "This will all be real. Mark's comfort will make this real."

"He _needs_ you." Teddy repeated. This time it sounded more like an order than a statement. Callie took a step back from Teddy in frustration. She didn't like to be told what to do. She continued to watch Mark through the window. He had been sedated and was back in his bed, eyes shut. Jackson was sitting next to his bed again as he turned to look at Callie hopelessly.

"I _can't _go in there, Teddy." Callie turned her back to Jackson, "Arizona Robbins, _my wife, _is dead. She died on a plane that she wasn't even supposed to be on!"

Teddy took a step towards Callie, looking at her sympathetically. Callie's gaze fell to the ground as her body began to shake.

"She was the best thing that ever happened to me."

* * *

><p>Twelve months have passed since the death of Arizona Robbins. A lot has happened in twelve months.<p> 


	2. How Do You Measure A Year?

"Finally," Meredith whispered excitedly, glancing behind herself at a sleeping Zola, "He took his time."

Lexie smiled at her sister through her iPad screen. She had been face timing Meredith every Saturday night for the past six months – ever since Meredith moved away to Boston with Derek and Zola. Their last few calls had been rather boring, as neither of them had very much to say. Every week had been the same. Work was hard as usual and Meredith was busy as ever looking after her beloved daughter. Tonight, however, was different. Lexie had some exciting news.

"Derek!" Meredith whisper-yelled, throwing one of Zola's soft toys at him. Derek had been napping on their bed for most of the call. He had a long day, dealing with another of his lost causes. Lexie gasped as she watched the toy giraffe hit Derek in the face. She tried to hold in a laugh, but as soon as Meredith began to giggle, she couldn't help it. Derek sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. He looked at the giraffe quizzically before he threw it back at Meredith.

"You really threw a toy giraffe at me?" Lexie heard him whisper as he got up off the bed, "You couldn't have come and woken me up like a normal person?"

"She's a Grey," Lexie butt in before Meredith could respond, "We aren't normal people."

Derek laughed as he took a seat next to his wife, giving her a brief kiss on the cheek. Meredith smiled and shot Lexie a look that said: _If you don't tell him, I will. _ Derek picked up on Meredith's expression and looked at Lexie, puzzled.

"What is it, Lexie?" Derek asked.

Lexie took a deep breath in an attempt to keep her excitement under control, but before she could even exhale the words escaped her mouth, "Mark proposed!"

"That's grea-"

"Oh god," Lexie's hand had flown straight to her mouth after she announced the good news, "T-that just completely flew out of my mouth."

Derek and Meredith exchanged glances before they burst out laughing.

* * *

><p>Callie had spent the morning with Sofia in the day care. Bailey had been there too for most of the morning with her son. Usually Callie loved having Bailey around, but this morning all she had done was complain.<p>

"What was Hunt thinking?" Bailey questioned as she played aimlessly with a toy truck, "Making Teddy Altman the Chief so soon after her husband passed away?"

Callie rolled her eyes. For the past year all Bailey had been doing was complaining about Teddy. She had hoped that it would fade, but when Bailey had a problem, she wouldn't let it go until she was proved right or wrong.

"You need to let it go, Bailey." Callie said, laughing mostly out of frustration, "Teddy has been chief for a year. If there were a real issue, she would have been fired by now."

Bailey rolled her eyes briefly before she turned to face her son with a fake smile on her face, "Mommy doesn't like the new Chief of Surgery. Mommy thinks Dr. Webber should be Chief again."

* * *

><p>"Please remind me why I decided to replace Owen as Chief." Teddy sighed, staring at the bottom of her empty glass. She had been in Joe's bar for a little over an hour now, sitting alone. She hadn't noticed Mark Sloan take a seat next to her and order a drink. It wasn't until he laughed at her seeking solace in her empty glass that she noticed him.<p>

"I make a pretty great Chief." He admitted matter-of-factly, taking a sip of his drink. "I'll take the job. I'm sure Avery will happily be my personal assistant again."

Teddy snorted. Mark had made a pretty great Chief-for-a-day last year, but could he really deal with the stress all day _every_ day? _Probably not, _Teddy thought.

"That would mean the 'right variety of baked goods' every meeting…" Teddy joked, pretending to ponder on the idea of making Mark chief, "What could go wrong?"

Mark nudged her, laughing at himself, "The food _was_ good though."

Teddy nodded in agreement, thinking back to the day Mark was Chief, "Arizona was right about the donuts. They were of a high standard."

Then she gasped, "Oh god, I'm so sorry."

She hadn't meant to bring Arizona up. Even though it had been twelve months since her passing, Arizona was still a sore subject in Seattle Grace Hospital, especially with Callie and Mark. Teddy looked up guiltily and tried to read Mark's expression. He had a tense look to his face as he took a big gulp of his drink and ordered another. His eyes met Teddy's as Joe poured him another drink.

"I need another as well please, Joe." She pleaded softly, not taking her eyes off of Mark.

* * *

><p>Lexie lay on her bed looking up towards the ceiling. She held her left hand above her face as she admired the ring on her finger. It was one of the most beautiful rings she had ever seen. Even Meredith had gasped when she saw it. Lexie smiled to herself as she shut her eyes and thought back to when Mark proposed earlier this evening. They had been hand in hand, walking out of the hospital. Lexie was talking animatedly about a patient she helped, as Mark listened, smiling at her warmly. As she was in the middle of explaining what was wrong with her patient, Mark stopped. They had just made it out of the hospital doors. He pulled her aside and released her hand. Lexie watched as Mark pulled out his phone and leaned against some concrete. She looked on confused as he pretended to text someone.<p>

"Mark?" She asked impatiently, "What are you doing?"

Mark looked up from his phone, a cheeky smirk spread across his face, "This doesn't look familiar?"

Lexie looked him up and down and scanned her surroundings. She let out a slight gasp as she realised he was reliving her embarrassing "I love you" confession.

"Are you making fun of me?" She hit his shoulder before she turned her back to him, "Because it's not funny. I had been trying not to say I love you for so long. I couldn't hold it in any longer."

Mark grinned as he grabbed her hand and turned her towards him. He held her left hand in both of his and squeezed gently. Lexie watched as he fell to one knee. She was speechless as her eyes filled with tears…

Lexie's eyes shot open as her phone started ringing. She sat up in her bed and reached for her phone. Callie's name was flashing on the screen.

"Callie?" Lexie skipped the hello, as she knew Callie only called her when she couldn't reach Mark.

"Hey Lexie," She said politely, "Is Mark with you?"

Lexie sighed silently as she lay back down on her bed, "No, he went to Joe's…" Lexie looked at the clock. Mark had been gone for a couple of hours now. She had opted out of going to the bar so that she could face time with Meredith.

"Oh." She paused. Lexie and Callie were friendly but they weren't really friends. Callie had been openly jealous of Mark and Lexie's happy relationship ever since Arizona passed, making it hard for them to be close. Lexie closed her eyes, hoping that Callie would end the call.

"Did he propose?"

"Um, w-what do you mean?" Lexie stuttered quietly. She didn't think Mark would have told Callie about the proposal so soon. He knew that Callie was still jealous of their happiness. Callie let out a laugh, "Come on Little Grey, I'm his best friend. I could tell he was going to do something stupid today."

Lexie flinched at her use of the word stupid. She was about to hang up when she heard Callie sigh.

"That was a bad joke, wasn't it?" Callie frowned, "Congratulations anyway."

Lexie laughed awkwardly. Most of her conversations with Callie ended up being this awkward.

"I was planning on going to Joe's tonight anyway," Callie begun, "Bailey has Sofia for the night. Did you want to come?"

Before she even really thought about it, Lexie nodded. It took her a moment to realise Callie couldn't see her nodding over the phone.

"Sure," Lexie said happily, "I'll be there in 10."

* * *

><p>Mark and Teddy had moved from the bar to the booth. The bar had become more and more crowded as it got later and later. Mark had lost count of how many drinks he had consumed. The mention of Arizona had caused him to want to drink away his sorrows. Initially he had come to the bar to try and celebrate. A few hours earlier, he had proposed to the love of his life, Lexie Grey. She had, of course, said yes. Mark had tried to be ecstatic. He thought coming to the bar and conversing with Joe would have made him feel more excited. He had planned on calling Derek after a few drinks and sharing the news. But after thinking about it, he realised Derek would notice that Mark wasn't over the moon like he should be. Instead, Mark spent the night with Teddy, reminiscing about the "good ol' days".<p>

"We're speaking of the good ol' days like they were 10 years ago." Teddy was laughing even though nothing was particularly funny. She had consumed just as many drinks as Mark had.

"A lot has happened in a year." Mark responded, laughing just as much as Teddy was. They both cracked up laughing for a few minutes, before they stopped and sighed. Both of their cups were empty. Before Teddy even realised she had finished her drink, Mark was up at the bar ordering another two. He walked over grinning from ear to ear with his famous charming smile. He took a seat next to Teddy, much closer than he was before.

"Here you go." He breathed, pushing her drink towards her with a wink.

Teddy shivered, taking a large sip of her drink. Mark laughed approvingly, following her lead by taking another big sip of his. As he placed his cup back down on the table, his eyes met Teddy's.

"Didn't we date once?" Mark asked, looking genuinely puzzled.

"If by date you mean you asking me out and me using you for sex." Teddy responded, smiling at him cheekily. She took another sip of her drink as she remembered their time together.

"It was good sex though." He said, leaning in closer. Teddy could smell the alcohol in his breath. She tried to look at him seriously, but her vision was slightly blurred. Her head was spinning as she leaned in closer towards him. Mark watched her lips as she moved in closer. They were good lips. As he watched her lips part, noting the strong smell of alcohol in her breath, someone cleared their throat behind them.

"If this isn't messed up," Callie stated bluntly, "I don't know what is."

Mark and Teddy broke apart abruptly, not able to look each other or Callie in the eyes. As they sat together awkwardly with Callie standing over them, the door to Joe's bar opened. Lexie Grey walked in and scanned the room to find everyone. She quickly found them all in a corner booth and smiled animatedly before she made her way over.

"_Well_, "Callie smiled sarcastically at Mark and Teddy before she took a seat at the booth, "This should be fun."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Hey guys! Thanks for reading through this long chapter. I wanted it to be quite long, as it's the first real chapter of this new world. Chapter One was more to the set the scene of this new world, following episode 8x24. This chapter (hopefully) introduced this new world. If you are a bit confused, however, here's the low down: Meredith, Derek and Zola moved to Boston where MerDer have new jobs and are living very happily. They followed the lead of Cristina and Owen who fled Seattle Grace together. All of these characters will make cameo appearances though, so don't worry if you love them, they'll still appear now and then! :) Teddy replaced Owen as Chief of Surgery following his resignation. Mark and Lexie still work as doctors in the hospital, as well as Callie. That's about all you need to know so far. ;) Hope you enjoy!


	3. The Truth Is Always Revealed

Once she had retrieved her beloved daughter from Bailey's care and returned home, Callie started to wonder what would have happened if she hadn't turned up at Joe's bar when she did. Would Mark and Teddy have just kissed, or would they have done more? Callie's night out had lasted about half an hour before Teddy awkwardly got up and left, followed by Mark lying about an important procedure he had early tomorrow morning.

"What surgery?" Lexie had asked, returning from the bar with a drink for herself and Callie. She took a seat next to Callie and smiled up at Mark, waiting for a response. Mark shot Callie a pleading glance which was returned with a roll of her eyes. Lexie caught onto their exchange and smiled awkwardly, "What am I missing?"

"He has a, uh," Callie's eyes darted around the room as she tried to think of an excuse, "He has a Buttock augmentation!"

Mark widened his eyes at Callie who bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders apologetically. She wasn't the greatest at thinking on the spot. Lexie looked at Mark and then Callie in disbelief. When neither of them said anything more, she let out a small chuckle, "You're kidding, right? That's your important surgery? Can't Jackson do it?"

Mark took a deep breath and put an arm on Lexie's shoulder, "I take all of my surgeries very seriously, Lex. If my patient wants a bigger and better looking ass, then it's my duty as the king of plastics to do that."

"Alright, _king of plastics_," Lexie said, removing his hand from her shoulder. "But I'm pretty sure you gave Jackson all of your buttock augmentations last week just so that we could sleep together in a call room."

Callie snorted as Mark kissed Lexie on the forehead before he started to walk away. Just as he was leaving the bar, Mark shot Callie a guilty glance over his shoulder.

Not long after he left, Callie told Lexie she had to go and get Sofia from Bailey before 10, which wasn't too much of a lie. Bailey had offered to look after Sofia overnight, but Callie didn't really want to spend the rest of the night with Lexie after seeing Mark almost shove his tongue down Teddy's throat.

"Your daddy's not being very smart, baby" Callie whispered as she rocked Sofia to sleep, "But don't worry, your mami is still _very_ smart."

* * *

><p>The next morning when Lexie woke up, she half expected Mark to be in bed with her. When she looked to her side and saw an empty bed, she sighed.<p>

"He really left _this_ early for a buttock augmentation?"

Lexie rolled her eyes to herself and reached for her phone. She had one unread message from Meredith:

_Hey Lex. How are you? Derek is flying over to Seattle today for work. I told him to drop in to see you – he already planned to, of course. You know Derek. He is flying in early so don't be surprised if someone is knocking at your door at breakfast time. Love you and miss you. X _

Before Lexie could even let the message sink in, there was a knock at the door. After her failure of a night out last night, Lexie had stayed at Joe's bar for an extra hour. She drank by herself in the booth, shooing off groups of people trying to move her.

"We need the booth!" They would complain, "You're by yourself, right? Why can't you sit at the bar?"

She stayed at the booth for an extra hour before she decided to finally leave. By the time she got home, she was too lazy to change into her pyjamas. Instead, she stripped into her bra and panties and crawled into bed. Although this seemed like a good idea at the time, she now found herself rushing to get dressed to open the door.

"Lex, open the door. I forgot some information sheets." It was Mark. Lexie relaxed and ran to the door. She opened it in just her jeans and bra. Mark looked her up and down before he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"H-hey, woah there tiger." She stuttered, giggling into his dark blue scrubs.

"Were you getting dressed to open the door for me?" He whispered jokingly, "You know I prefer you naked."

Lexie giggled into his ear as he kissed her neck. She moaned slightly before pushing him away. He looked down at her like a sad puppy.

"I wasn't getting dressed for you. I thought it was Derek was knocking." She explained as someone at the door cleared their throat. Lexie and Mark, alarmed that they had left the door open, turned around simultaneously.

"Derek _is_ here," The voice said, laughing, "But now… suddenly I wish I wasn't."

Lexie felt her cheeks go red as Mark let out a cheerful chuckle, "Derek, _my_ man! You didn't tell me you were in town!"

* * *

><p>Teddy Altman stared at the iPad in front of her, waiting for Owen's face to appear on the screen. She had been promising to face time him and Cristina since they left – over 6 months ago now – but kept making up some excuse as to why she couldn't. She had never had an iPad or iPhone or any kind of smart device before as she had never really needed one before she was named Chief of Surgery. As a result, she had no clue how to use face time. Not wanting to seem like an idiot, she didn't admit that to Owen. It wasn't until Alex Karev saw her fiddling with her iPad while they observed a surgery that she took the time to figure it out.<p>

"What are you trying to do, Chief?" Karev asked, leaning over her shoulder. "Do you even know how to use that thing?"

Teddy flinched. She didn't realise people were watching her fail miserably at trying to face time Owen.

"Yeah… um, of course I know what I'm doing." She lied, sliding her finger aimlessly across the screen.

Karev chuckled as he stood up and moved to the seat next to her, "What are you trying to do?"

Admitting defeat, Teddy handed the iPad over sighing. She explained that she had been trying to face time Owen for the past few minutes. Within seconds, Teddy heard a ringing sound and Alex smiled smugly down at the screen. Before either of them was ready, Cristina's face popped up on the iPad.

"What the hell, devil spawn?" She frowned at the sight of Karev's face. "You're not shacking up with Altman now are you?"

"Shut up, Yang." Alex breathed, looking at the iPad angrily.

Teddy snatched the iPad out of Karev's hands and waved excitedly at Cristina before saying anything.

"Uh, no. I have standards, Yang." She joked, lifting her elbow to nudge Karev jokingly in the side. Before she could, he stood up and stormed out of the room. Teddy watched as he walked out, suddenly feeling guilty, "I probably shouldn't have made a joke like that, now that I'm Chief of surgery, right?"

Cristina laughed loudly before she muttered, "Don't worry about Karev. He'll be butt hurt for a while but he'll get over it."

For the next few minutes, Cristina and Teddy exchanged laughs and stories of the past 6 months that they had been apart. It wasn't until Cristina started telling an embarrassing story about Owen that he magically appeared on the screen.

"Teddy!" He exclaimed happily, cutting Cristina's story short, "You finally learned how to face time I assume?"

Teddy rolled her eyes, "There's no point even lying is there? I have absolutely no idea how to use this iPad. I had to get Karev of all people to show me!"

Cristina snorted as Owen took the iPad from her. Teddy's heart started to race as she looked at Cristina and Owen. It had been so long since she had seen their smiling, happy faces. She felt a tear fall down her face. She had hoped that Owen and Cristina didn't see it, but before she even had the time to wipe it away, they were looking at her with worried expressions.

"Teddy?" Owen sounded warm and comforting which caused Teddy to shed a few more tears.

"I-I just really miss you two." She admitted with a chuckle, wiping away the tears that continued to fall. It wasn't a lie. She _did_ miss them. Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital was not the same without them. But a part of her knew that she was also crying out of guilt.

"Are you sure that's all?" Owen asked, holding the iPad at an angle that made him look more intimidating than he had probably intended. Even though he was far away, Teddy still felt as if he could tell she was hiding something. From their time in the army together, to working together at the hospital, Teddy had never been able to keep a secret from Owen. Not for too long. No matter how much she wanted to. Cristina and Owen looked at Teddy questioningly, waiting for her to say something.

"It's nothing." She lied, wiping the last few tears from her face. "Really. I just miss you guys."

Cristina exchanged a glance of disbelief with Owen before he raised his voice slightly, "Spit it out, Altman."

Teddy laughed awkwardly and took a deep breath.

"I almost kissed Sloan." She exhaled, feeling her shoulders relax. She hadn't even realised they were tense, "I mean, he almost kissed me. I'm not really sure who almost kissed who. It might have been a mutual thing."

Owen shook his head disapprovingly in response.

"Didn't he just propose to Little Grey, like, yesterday?" Cristina asked, sounding a little bored with the conversation. Suddenly a look of disbelief and guilt spread across her face.

"Yeah," A voice from behind Teddy squeaked. It sounded like it was about to break, "H-he did."

Teddy turned abruptly in response to the voice. Behind her, Lexie Grey was leaning against the wall with her face in her hands.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Hey guys! If you have been reading my first ever fanfic, and have actually managed to read up to the newest chapter (this one: chapter 3) I would really appreciate some constructive criticism! Are the chapters too long? Is there too much or too little dialogue? Is there something I do with my writing that you don't like? Anything would be lovely! I've never written fanfiction before and would love to use your criticism to get better. :) Hope you are enjoying the story so far. Xo


	4. Everyone Falls Apart Sometimes

Lexie walked as fast as she could to the nearest elevator. On her way there, she accidentally knocked Miranda Bailey, causing her to drop all of her charts.

"Oh, _great_. That's just great." Lexie said sarcastically as she kneeled to the floor. Bailey had already collected all of her charts at the speed of light and was on her way. She could sense that something was bothering Lexie Grey and she wanted nothing to do with it. If Lexie was anything like her half-sister Meredith Grey, Bailey knew better than to get involved with her drama.

Lexie stayed on the ground for a moment after Bailey had left, playing Teddy's confession over and over in her mind. She hadn't even meant to be eavesdropping but when she had run into Karev in the hall, he mentioned something about "that bitch Cristina" being on face time with Teddy. Even though she and Cristina were never particularly close, she hadn't heard from her in a few months and was curious to see what she was up to.

"Lexie?" April Kepner kneeled down on the ground next to her, "Um, what are you doing on the floor exactly?"

Lexie was snapped back into the present. She rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. April was the last person she wanted to see. It was hard for her to deal with April's unnatural cheerfulness on a daily basis. Without saying a word, Lexie stood up and continued on her way to find the nearest elevator.

"Come on. Come _on_." She breathed impatiently, abusing the down button. All around her, nurses, doctors and other staff were watching her have a fight with the elevator controls. Some laughed to themselves while others looked at her like she was a crazy person. It wasn't until the elevator finally got to her floor that she stopped pressing the button. When the doors opened, she was faced with the smiling face of Mark Sloan – the last person she wanted to see.

"Just the girl I wanted to see!" He exclaimed with open arms, as if welcoming her into the elevator. Lexie just stood and looked at him in disbelief. There were people walking around her into the elevator, looking at Mark awkwardly. He kept his arms lifted awkwardly until the doors started to come to a close.

"Lex?"

Lexie watched the elevator doors close in on Mark. She was speechless. Seeing him had sparked so many emotions inside of her. On the one hand, her heart had started to race at the sight of his beautiful, charming smile. On the other, much sadder and angrier hand, she had wanted to break down and punch him in the face all at the same time.

* * *

><p>Callie sat on the edge of her bed, sighing deeply. It had been an extremely long day at work. She stared at the framed photo of her and Arizona on her bed side table, smiling to herself. Her stomach sunk sadly as her heart started to beat fast at the sight of her deceased wife.<p>

"You'll be happy to hear that Mark is still being an idiot." Callie said laughing, picking the photo up from the table. "He almost kissed Teddy, not even 24 hours after he had just proposed to Lexie."

She traced Arizona's beautiful face with her fingers, watching her tears silently fall against the picture. There was nothing she wanted more than to have Arizona there with her now. She could almost picture her reaction to Mark's actions.

"He did _what_?" She would say, rolling her eyes as she tucked a blonde strand of hair behind her ear. "Why am I not surprised?"

Callie laughed to herself as she imagined Arizona explaining all the reasons why she wasn't surprised that Mark almost cheated on Lexie. She placed the picture against her chest, feeling her heart beat fast. For a split moment, Callie thought she could feel Arizona with her. She could almost smell her, almost _feel_ her there. A knock at the door caused her to jump. The photo fell to the ground, smashing glass everywhere. Another knock.

"Shit," Callie cursed, picking the photo up off the floor and stepping over the glass towards the door. "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Callie opened the door to a tear-stained Teddy, holding a bottle of wine in one hand.

"Um, I know we didn't plan anything tonight," She whispered under her breath, eyes on the ground. "But I'm really in need of a friend and lots and lots of alcohol."

Teddy looked up toward Callie and noticed that her face was also covered in the tracks her tears had left behind, "…It looks like you could use some too."

* * *

><p>Mark worked late at the hospital. When he finally got to his apartment, Lexie and Derek were already at the table eating dinner. After the awkward encounter at the elevator, Mark had been waiting to get Lexie alone to speak to her about it. She hadn't seemed that distant since adjusting to being at work after the plane crash. He worried that she was reliving the tragic accident.<p>

"Hey." Mark greeted, smiling at the two of them as he took his jacket off. Derek smiled back while Lexie buried her face in her dinner.

"Hey," Derek responded politely as he watched Lexie with a puzzled expression, "Long day then?"

Mark took a seat next to Lexie before he nodded. He watched his fiancé curiously as she inhaled her food faster than she should have. It wasn't long before she was coughing, choking on a bit of her food. Mark stood up abruptly and started hitting her on the back to help clear her airway.

"I-I'm fine." She stuttered when she could breathe properly again. She picked up her and Derek's empty dinner plates and walked over to the sink, followed closely by Mark. Derek took a phone call from Meredith and was soon speaking in a baby voice in the spare bedroom, "Daddy misses Zola. Yes he does!"

"Let me help you with those." Mark offered, reaching to take one of the plates out of Lexie's hands. She hit his hand away gently and continued to turn the hot water on.

"I'm fine." She said, trying not to raise her voice. Mark ignored her and tried to reach for the plates again. Even though he was trying to make her life a little easier, all he was doing was making it that much harder.

"I said I'm _fine_, Mark." She yelled through gritted teeth. She hadn't wanted to start a scene while Derek was staying over, but Mark was making it hard. It was hard for her to even look him in the eyes without wanting to scream at the top of her lungs. Mark took a step back and watched Lexie as she cleaned the dishes furiously. He couldn't understand where this behaviour was coming from. Did she have a bad day? Did she lose a patient?

"What's wrong?" He asked, standing a safe distance away. Derek was still in the spare room speaking to Zola and Meredith.

"Nothing's wrong." Lexie lied, drying the plates with a tea towel. If she used any more pressure than she already was, she might have broken the plates. Mark examined her body language. Her shoulders were tense. She wasn't exactly frowning, but her face definitely looked stressed with her eyebrows drawn together. Mark took a step closer and watched as her shoulders tensed up more.

"Seriously, Lexie. What's the deal?" Mark was starting to feel a little impatient. He had had a long day himself. Jackson was being weird. Every time Mark mentioned setting him up with someone, Jackson would snap and then become oddly silent. He wouldn't even make a joke about how Mark made him feel extremely uncomfortable. Now, Lexie was acting out for a reason unknown to him. Lexie put down the tea towel and plates as she inhaled deeply. She turned to face Mark, a fierce expression spread across her face.

"You're right," She breathed angrily, raising her voice against her will. "Something _is_ going on. Something that is really, really messed up. I wish I didn't know about it. No… yeah, I really wish I didn't. It would be better if I didn't. But I do know. And I _wish_ that I could yell at you about it. I want to hit you and scream at you, but I can't. I don't want to start a scene while Derek is here. So no, Mark. Right now, nothing is wrong. Nothing. At. All."

Before Mark could respond, Meredith Grey's voice caused Lexie to cover her mouth with her hand in embarrassment.

"What was that? Was that Lexie?" Derek had put Meredith on speaker before exiting the spare bedroom so that she could speak with her sister.

"Are you _serious_?" Lexie exploded, barging past Mark and then Derek to the door. She slammed it behind her, leaving Mark and Derek standing around in the apartment awkwardly.

"Did Lexie just leave? Was it because of me? Derek, are you still there?"

"I'll call you back, Meredith."


	5. Love Is Fragile

Lexie found herself standing outside of her sister's old house, the house that belonged to her Dad's ex-wife. Ellis Grey's old house. It had been almost a year since she had been there. She had no real reason to go back now that Meredith, Derek and Zola were all in Boston. But for some reason, after she had stormed out of Mark's apartment, her feet had ended up here. The light was on in the lounge room. Alex Karev was sitting on the couch with a bowl full of popcorn. When Meredith left, she had sold the house to him. Lexie had tried to protest, but Meredith and Alex had a bond that no one could really understand.

"I trust him," She had explained, smiling happily at Lexie. "He loves that house just as much as I do. He might even love it more. He understands its worth."

"I don't think he understands the worth of anything." She rebutted, rolling her eyes. Meredith just laughed in response, patting her sister on the shoulder as she walked past.

Lexie snuck through the garden to the window and watched Alex as he laughed at whatever he was watching on the television. As she looked in, an intern walked into the room. For a split second their eyes met, causing Lexie to fall to the ground in an attempt to hide.

"I think there's someone out there, Alex." The intern whispered. She took a step towards the window and scanned the small front garden for movement. Lexie lay on the ground, trying to keep her breathing subtle. She didn't want the movement of her chest to make her visible.

"Don't be insane," Alex muttered, not tearing his eyes away from the television in front of him, "There's no one out there. Just shut up and sit down, Leah."

Lexie rolled her eyes at Alex's obvious lack of respect for poor girl he had clearly just slept with. _I can't believe I had a thing with him_, she thought to herself in disgust. The ground was starting to feel cold beneath her. She lifted her gaze back to the window to see if anyone was watching. Both Leah and Alex had their eyes glued to the TV. Lexie took this moment to stand up and make a quick getaway. As she stood, the outside light turned on and her breathing stopped.

"Crap on a stick…" She sighed, turning around slowly to face the music. Behind her, Leah was standing in the lounge room with a confused expression spread across her face and her arms crossed against her chest. She clearly recognised Lexie, but couldn't quite pinpoint exactly who she was. Seconds later, Alex was storming out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

"What the hell, Lexie?" He said with a raised voice, "What are you doing here?"

"I, uh, I just wanted… to u-um…" She took a deep breath. Alex looked angry as usual, clearly not pleased by her stuttering. "I just wanted to see Meredith's old house. I just… I needed to see it tonight."

"Mer didn't tell me I should be expecting a random visit from her crazy half-sister." He spat in response, no trace of compassion in his tone. Lexie's eyes dropped to the ground. What had she been thinking, turning up in the middle of the night at Karev's place? Sure, it had been her home once too, but she had no right to be there now.

"I'm sorry." She grumbled under her breath, as sincerely as she could manage. Alex was the last person she ever wanted to apologise to. Every time she did, she felt a piece of her dignity smash into a thousand small pieces.

"Whatever." He whispered, still sounding agitated. "Just hurry up and come inside already, okay? I don't want this damn outside light on anymore."

* * *

><p>Callie and Teddy had stayed up for hours talking about anything, everything and nothing all at the same time. It had been a long time since either of them had truly connected with someone since the death of their spouses. Henry and Arizona were still sorely missed by their other halves, a year after their demise.<p>

"It really is messed up," Callie said, taking a sip of her wine. "I mean, Arizona has left me behind with two babies. I have to look after Sofia and now Mark as well it seems." She was referring to him almost ruining his engagement by kissing Teddy the other night. Teddy bit her lip, feeling guilty for the part she played in it all.

"I don't think Arizona purposely left you behind," Teddy stated trying to avoid the subject of Mark, swishing her wine around in the cup. "Just like I don't think Henry meant to leave me."

Callie pondered on this, shifting her gaze to her sleeping daughter. She took another big sip of wine, finishing off the glass full. Teddy picked up on it straight away and refilled her glass to the top, making Callie smile. After spending most of the night reminiscing about Arizona, she was glad to have Teddy here to help her avoid another break down.

"Lately I feel like people are on guard when they speak to me," Callie explained, leaning back into the couch sighing. "As if they have to watch what they say in case they make me cry or something. I think the interns are even avoiding my service. Who would want to avoid Ortho? It's kick ass!"

"Right?" Teddy followed her lead and sunk comfortably into the couch, wine in hand. "When Henry died, everyone tried to avoid me. I think I made them all uncomfortable even when I didn't mean to. Like, sorry my husband died. Sorry it makes you feel awkward."

Callie laughed hysterically. Even though it hadn't been _that_ funny, she hadconsumed quite a few glasses of wine at this point, "Exactly! I feel like I have to apologise for the death of my own wife, just because it makes everyone so uncomfortable."

Teddy was glad to have someone to connect with about this. When Arizona had died, Teddy was there for Callie initially but as it started to sink in for her more and more, she shut everyone out – Teddy included. It wasn't until tonight that Teddy had really tried to connect with Callie again. And boy was she glad that she had. No one else in the hospital truly understood what it was like to lose your spouse to death. Alex Karev was the closest after the whole thing with Isobel Stevens, but he was impossible to connect with.

"I'm so glad we did this," Teddy admitted, speaking her thoughts aloud. "It feels nice being able to openly talk about Henry without someone thinking I'm just looking for pity or without someone feeling uncomfortable."

Callie smiled warmly in response, taking another big sip of wine. She was definitely feeling it at this point, but she had gotten to the point where she didn't care. The more alcohol in her system, the better. Teddy watched on, amused, as Callie quickly finished another glass of wine. They chatted through the night, Callie drinking more and more alcohol. Teddy hadn't consumed much of hers. She was still on her first glass, swishing it around and around.

"I haven't been this drunk in a loooooooong time," Callie hiccupped. She giggled hysterically at the sound of her own hiccup. "When did we all become sooooo boring?"

Teddy laughed, scooting closer to Callie on the couch. She was worried Callie might drop her glass on the floor, so she subtly removed it from her hand while she was distracted. It wasn't long until Callie noticed it was missing.

"Where did my cup go?" Callie scanned the apartment looking distressed. "Mr. Cup, where have you gone? I neeeeeed you."

Teddy giggled and put her glass down on the table. Callie caught Teddy's gaze and narrowed her eyes, "Do _you _have my cup?" Another hiccup. She leaned in, bringing her face closer to Teddy's, trying to seem intimidating. Callie accidentally leaned in too close and Teddy felt her nose brush against her own. To her surprise, a chill went down her spine with their skin-to-skin contact. Teddy's heart started racing and her palms started to break out in a small sweat.

"Are you dr-drunk?" Callie slurred, laughing hysterically to herself. "Your cheeks have gone all red. Teddy is drunk! Teddy is drunk!"

Teddy touched her cheek, feeling the warmth against her sweaty palm. She definitely wasn't drunk. She had only had a few sips of her first glass of wine. So what was happening to her? Why was she feeling so hot all of a sudden? Why was her heart racing? Teddy hadn't felt like this since she was with Henry. Before she knew it, she leaned in again but this time she parted her lips and kissed Callie softly. At first there was no response, but within seconds, Callie was pushing her down onto the couch and was on top of her. They kissed for a few minutes before Teddy was removing her own shirt, revealing a black lace bra.

"Ooooh, very hot. Very, very hot." Callie burp-hiccupped and was soon laughing again as she continued to make out with Teddy on the couch.

"Let's move to the bedroom." Teddy suggested, noting that Sofia was asleep in a crib nearby. Callie nodded and rolled off the couch before she led Teddy to her bed.

* * *

><p>Mark had spent the majority of the night searching for Lexie. Derek had tried to talk him out of it, saying that she needed space but Mark was intent on finding her. He was worried about her. She had acted out earlier. It wasn't like her to start a fight with people over. They hadn't even fought in months. This was the first time since the plane crash that either of them had even raised their voices at one another.<p>

Mark went to Joe's bar first, thinking he might find her here drinking away her sorrows. He looked around for a while but couldn't see her anywhere. He did find Jackson and April, though. They sat together very closely, undressing each other with their eyes. If Mark hadn't been trying to find Lexie, he would've walked over to make Jackson purposely uncomfortable. _Another time,_ he thought smugly to himself. After searching Joe's bar, Mark went straight to the hospital. Sometimes when Lexie had things on her mind, she worked especially hard to be personal with patients. She would try to connect with them and try to get her mind off her own problems. He searched the hospital for a long period of time. Asking around if anyone had seen her, looking in the call-rooms and O.R.'s. She was nowhere to be seen. Mark was at a loss. He couldn't think of where she could be. He was about to call it a night when one last idea popped into his mind. Meredith's old house. Formerly known as the 'frat house'. Everyone and anyone had lived there at one point. George O'Malley, Isobel Stevens, Alex Karev, Lexie, Jackson Avery… even April Kepner. It had always amused Mark when Derek would complain to him about having to live with them all.

"They are immature, loud and they smell." He would complain as he came into work in the morning. "They don't even know how to knock!"

Mark remembered all the funny stories Derek had told him about the house as he made his way over there. It didn't take him too long to get there from the hospital, which pleased him. He had been all over the place for the whole night. When he got to the house, the light in the lounge room was still on. He walked up to the door. But before he could even knock, an automatic outside light had turned on causing the three people in the lounge room to turn and look outside. Lexie rolled her eyes angrily and turned back to the television in front of her, shoving a huge handful of popcorn into her mouth. The other girl in the room, an intern Mark thought looked sort of familiar looked at him seductively. Alex was already up from the couch and opening the door, the usual irritated expression spread across his face.

"What the hell is going on tonight?" He whinged, not even trying to hide his agitation. "First Lexie and now _you_."

"I need to talk to Lexie." Mark pleaded, ignoring Karev's obvious complaints. Alex turned to face Lexie in the lounge room, who was trying as hard as she could to ignore Mark's presence. Karev shot her an irritated look, to which she sighed in response and stood up. Mark lit up, thinking he would be able to convince Lexie to come back to the apartment. He stood up tall and flashed his infamous charming smile. Lexie arrived at the door and smiled back sarcastically. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before she spoke.

"I don't want to see you right now," She started, her voice almost as agitated as Karev's. "I don't want to talk to you. I know that you are trying to make things better, but all you are doing is making it worse. I need you to leave me alone. Can you manage that, Mark? Can you leave me alone for one night?"

Before Mark could even respond, Lexie had slammed the door in his face.

"Woah, Grey." Karev whispered behind closed doors. "That was actually kind of badass."

"Shut up, Alex."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Hi guys! Just making sure you all know that this is pretty much a Slexie fanfic. If that wasn't obvious already... I know that it is probably annoying that they are already fighting and on the outs... but I go more into it as the fic goes on! I think that if Mark and Lexie had actually survived the plane crash, it wouldn't be as easy as we hoped it would be for them to reconnect. So that's what this fic is exploring. There will be a flashback next chapter that really shows why it has been so hard for them.

Although it is mostly a Slexie fic, it is also a CalliexTeddy fic (Not sure if they have a shipper name). I think it would be interesting to explore a potential relationship between these two. To see whether it would work out and whether it wouldn't! Hope you guys are enjoying it. If you are (and even if you aren't!) please leave me some criticism and reviews... it would mean a lot. :) Thanks guys! Xx


	6. Loving Him Is Red

_Flashback. 10 months ago. Mark's apartment. _

Lexie hummed along to the stereo music as she prepared her dinner on the stove. Mark was being discharged from the hospital today. She had been cleaning the apartment and brainstorming ideas for what they could spend the night doing. Honestly, there wasn't really much to brainstorm. Earlier she had purchased a new set of lingerie which was now laid out on their bed. She knew exactly what they would spend their time doing tonight. Lexie turned her head towards the bedroom and smiled to herself. _He's going to love it, _she thought confidently. Taking a deep breath Lexie turned the music up louder and started to dance along, shaking her hips as she stirred the pasta she had on the stove. As she was enjoying her solo dance party, someone opened the door. Mark walked in looking expressionless. He stared at Lexie for a split second before he took off his coat and walked over to the couch. Quickly locating the remote, he switched the television on without breathing a word.

"Welcome home, Mark!" Lexie beamed excitedly, turning her music off. She turned the stove on low and let her food simmer before walking over to Mark on the couch. He remained silent, even as she crawled onto his lap and kissed him. No response. Lexie tried to ignore the obvious cold shoulder and continued to smile, stroking his stubble affectionately. She waited a few minutes before speaking again.

"How are you feeling?" She asked softly, trying to find anything to get a conversation going.

"I feel fine." Mark responded automatically, looking directly through her. He picked up the remote and flicked through the channels making it obvious that he wasn't going to say anymore on the subject. Lexie sighed and stood up, returning to her dinner. For a while she just stood in the kitchen area, preparing their dinner. It didn't take her long before she was finished and was setting up the table for them.

"Cooking and setting up dinner for two is enough for me!" Lexie joked, once again attempting to spark conversation with her beloved boyfriend. "Imagine when we have kids and I have to set the table for three or four of us. I don't know how Meredith and Derek do it!"

Mark stood up suddenly, turning away from the television and looking at Lexie seriously for the first time since he had gotten home. This was the first time Lexie had ever seen him looking this angry in her direction.

"I'm not ready for this, Lex! Arizona just died. One of Sofia's mothers died. My friend died." He snapped, clenching his fists at his sides. "I can't even THINK about the future right now. I need to be there for Torres. I need to be there for Sofia."

Lexie set down the cutlery she was holding onto the table. She hadn't meant to push him. She was just making a joke in an attempt to lighten the mood. Lexie saw how tense he was looking and walked over to him, placing her hands on his face.

"I didn't mean to push you, Mark." Lexie whispered gently, smiling up at him as she caressed his face. She waited a moment for his fists to unclench before she kissed him softly. Within seconds, he was pushing her away before he made his way for the door.

"Why are you being like this?" It was Lexie's turn to snap. She had done nothing but try and be nice and mature as soon as he returned from the hospital. She had been in the plane crash, too. She had lost a colleague. "I am trying so hard to… to make conversation with you! But you won't even look at me… let alone have a real conversation with me!"

Mark didn't speak a word. He walked over to his coat and put it on before opening the door and slamming it shut behind him.

Mark didn't return until the next morning.

* * *

><p><em>Current Day. <em>

It didn't take long for Derek to find Lexie. Over the years, he had experienced his fair share of Grey's and their crazy. He was even married to one now. Derek tried to imagine where Lexie would go in a time of need. With the help of Meredith, he came to the conclusion that she would be at Karev's place.

"I don't think she'd be at the hospital." Meredith had said as she fed Zola her bottle. "The hospital is probably one of the last places she wants to be right now. It would remind her too much of Mark."

"Okay… okay," Derek responded, trying to think of somewhere she could be that wouldn't remind her of Mark. Within seconds, he was smiling at the iPad in front of him. Meredith was doing the exact same thing, only difference was that she was holding a very hungry baby.

"The old house!" They chimed simultaneously. Derek shot Meredith a smug smile before waving goodbye and ending the face time. It made sense for Lexie to seek solace in that house. Meredith's old house was one of the only places she didn't share with Mark. She had spent time with him in the hospital. More time than she could ever measure. She had spent time with him in Joe's bar. The next place she would go to unwind was that house.

Derek made his way over to the house in no time. He knew the way like the back of his hand. When he got there, he spotted Lexie sitting on the couch with Karev through the window. Rather than knocking on the door, he went for the window to get both of their attention. They both turned around in shock and were relieved to see Derek standing there and not some serial killer. Alex soon looked frustrated again, like he always did, as him and Lexie stood up to let Derek in the door.

"Get outta here, Karev." Derek said charmingly, patting him on the shoulder as he walked in and made his way towards the couch. Lexie looked slightly alarmed and watched Alex's face to see how he would respond. She wasn't surprised to look up and see an irritated expression spread across his face.

"Are you serious, Shepherd?" He spat, turning to face Derek. "This is MY house! Where do you expect me to go?"

"Go to the hospital," Derek suggested calmly, smirking to himself. "I'm sure there are some sick children just waiting for you to cure them."

Alex looked at Lexie for help. All she could do was shrug her shoulders helplessly as she took a seat next to Derek on the couch.

"Seriously," Alex grumbled, taking his coat off from the hook. "Meredith should have told me I would be expecting visits from her messed up family." He slammed the door behind him on his way out.

Lexie was left in the silence with her brother-in-law, the magnificent Derek Shepherd. She sat awkwardly, feeling her heart race. It was hard for her to keep her feelings hidden from him. The past year or so they had become closer. She was starting to feel like a sister to him and vice versa. As she was caught up in her own thoughts, Derek placed a reassuring hand on her back. Lexie turned to face him, tears welling up in her eyes. His big blue eyes widened as he looked at her worriedly.

"Mark almost kissed Teddy the other night." She whispered quietly, trying to hold in her tears. "He didn't even tell me… I found out when Teddy was face timing Cristina of all people."

Derek chuckled lightly at the mention of Cristina. He never had a very close relationship with her but deep down he had always respected her. She was 'dark and twisty', just like Meredith once was, but he had learned to love that about her.

"I think we rushed into the whole engagement thing," Lexie continued, starting to sob softly, "Ever since he was discharged from the hospital, he has been different. He's become darker… and sometimes I don't… I don't even recognise the way he looks right through me. I just wanted so badly for us to be together after everything that happened, you know?"

Derek watched Lexie as she started to shake, tears rolling down her face. He had witnessed Lexie crying on multiple occasions, but it had been awhile since the last time. It was something that he admired about her. She was never afraid to cry when she needed to.

"He just lost one of his best friends." Derek said gently, "He lost one of his daughter's mothers."

"I know and I get it. I really do. We've all lost people, Derek. But sometimes it's like he's not even there. I know that he's trying to be. I… I can tell that he is trying so hard to be there for me and… and it's sweet. It is. I just wish that he would actually _be_ there." Lexie took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her face. She watched Derek's expression to see how he would react. Was she crazy for saying what she did? Derek looked at her warmly and placed a hand on her shoulder. He always knew how to make her feel comfortable, even when she wasn't.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"I think… we need some space from each other." Lexie breathed, twisting her ring around her finger sadly. She watched as a tear fell and landed right on the diamond. Her heart hurt, but she knew that this was the right decision for now.

Derek sat with Lexie as she sobbed quietly on his shoulder.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N.: <strong>So I know that there was no Callie and Teddy this chapter, but I wanted it to focus on why Mark and Lexie's relationship had been so difficult since the plane crash. Mark hasn't completely healed after losing Arizona and Lexie now realizes that he needs to be on his own for awhile before they can be happy. Plus I love Derek and Lexie's brother/sister friendship! So I wanted to explore that a bit more this chapter as well. Next chapter there will be more Callie and Teddy! Yay! Hope you liked today's chapter. :) Please review!


	7. Walk Away

Callie stared at the scans she held in front of her face. An intern had walked in a few minutes ago, bragging about a big orthopaedic surgery they would be scrubbing in on with their patient. Callie had shot them down in seconds after they talked her through the injury.

"You think I'm going to let an intern as cocky as you scrub in on this surgery?" She asked, smiling menacingly in their direction. "This surgery is going to be my baby! I'm not letting you near my baby. "

As she shooed that intern away, another one walked past. _Apparently this hospital is an intern dispenser, _she thought smiling to herself. Callie quickly grabbed their attention, "Hey you. Wanna scrub in on a really cool ortho surgery with me?"

The intern beamed as they walked in to admire the scans. Callie felt shamelessly proud watching them seem so interested in her branch of surgery, "Pretty cool, huh?"

Just as the intern was about to answer, Bailey walked into the room and shut the door.

"Get out of here, Ross." She demanded forcefully as the intern made his way out without putting up a fight. He had clearly tried to disobey Bailey before. Callie pouted down at Miranda.

"Hey! I was enjoying that," She whined, "I love when baby interns look interested in ortho."

Bailey rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah whatever. He'll be back. What's going on with Teddy today?"

Callie turned to face Miranda, a puzzled look on her face. She hadn't seen Teddy since the night she came over which was two nights ago now. Honestly, half of that night is now a blacked out memory for Callie. After a few too many drinks, she ended up forgetting most of it. When she woke up the next morning, with a terrible hangover, Teddy was nowhere to be seen. She had assumed that Teddy put her to bed and went back home to sleep.

"Oh shoot," Callie hit her palm against her forehead, "I meant to thank Teddy for putting me to be-"

"Nuh uh!" Bailey interjected rudely, putting a finger to her mouth, "I don't need to or want to know about your extracurricular activities with the Chief. I just want to know why she's being so cheerful today."

"Nothing happened between us, Bailey!" Callie said, laughing. "I just got really drunk and she put me to be-"

"Sh sh! No. I don't want to know."

Callie rolled her eyes and went back to looking at her scans. Bailey was wasting her time. She needed to think of the best possible way to surgically deal with this injury. As she brainstormed, she waited for Bailey to leave. When she didn't move for a few minutes, Callie turned to face her again.

"What do you want, Miranda?"

"Why is Teddy so cheerful today?"

"I don't know."

"Ask her."

"You ask her!"

"I'm not leaving until you do." Bailey said, stomping her foot to emphasize her point. Callie looked at her in disbelief before sighing deeply and walking out of the room to find Teddy. She asked around on the floor she was on to see if anyone knew where she was. It wasn't until she was near the elevators that a nurse said that she had just seen Teddy in her office. With Bailey close on her tail, Callie made her way to the Chief's office.

"You are so annoying." Callie muttered under her breath, failing to hide her affectionate smile.

"I know," Bailey replied matter-of-factly, smiling back cheerfully. "But I get what I want."

* * *

><p>After her heart to heart with Derek the night before, Lexie arrived at work determined to find Mark and speak with him. She hadn't been home in a couple of nights. A part of her wanted to run into Mark's arms after not seeing him for a while, but another part knew that she had other matters to take into her hands. Derek had supported her idea of giving Mark space, as well as giving herself space. They had been through a big trauma together and were healing differently.<p>

"How did you and Meredith get through it?" Lexie had asked once her sobbing had stopped.

"We've been through our fair share of traumas together," Derek explained, smiling warmly at his sister-in-law. "And we had Zola to think about. She's been our glue through all of this."

Lexie frowned. Her and Mark didn't have a Zola in their lives. They had Sofia, but it wasn't the same. Lexie wasn't Sofia's mother. That was Arizona and Callie. Derek caught her frowning and gave her a reassuring pat on the back, "You will both get through this. He loves you and you love him. It will all work out."

Lexie replayed their conversation in her head as she searched for Mark in the hospital. She had run into Jackson and was surprised when he said he hadn't seen Mark yet. When she was about to give up and take a break, she saw the back of Mark from the corner of her eye walking into an on-call room. Before she knew it, her heart was racing. She clenched her fists and felt the sweat in her palms. Derek's reassurance rang in her ears as she made her way to the on-call room.

"It will all work out," She repeated under her breath in an attempt to reassure herself, "He loves me and I love him…"

When she reached the door of the room, she paused. Her hand was on the knob. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she turned the knob to open. Lexie was welcomed by Mark looking up, his face stained with tears. Her heart sank tremendously. She had never seen him look so vulnerable. Not since she found him on the stairs when Callie was in surgery, years ago now. Without any control over it, her legs started walking towards the bed he was laying on. She sat down on the bed and gestured for him to scoot over. Within seconds, she was laying down next to him. For a few minutes all they did was lay there in silence. Lexie could feel her heart beating out of her chest. She could hear Mark's breathing and he could hear hers. The last thing she wanted to do was speak and ruin the beauty of this moment. It had been a long time since she had been able to lie down in bed with Mark this peacefully.

"I know what you're going to say." He admitted sadly. Lexie snapped out of her day dream and was confronted with reality. Soon her mind was racing again. Her talk with Derek was playing over and over in her head. She knew what she had to do and Mark knew that she was going to do it.

"Please don't say it," He continued, rolling over onto his side. "I love you, Lex. I promise I will try my hardest to be less distant. We can work through this."

Lexie shut her eyes and tried to blink away the tears that were welling up. As much as she wanted to listen to what he was saying, she knew it was just in the moment. She loved him and wanted nothing more than to be with him, but she also wanted nothing more than for him to heal. It was obvious that she was only making it harder on him. Lexie looked down at the beautiful diamond ring on her finger as she fiddled with it. Mark followed her gaze and sighed. Shutting her eyes one last time and taking a deep breath, she sat up and faced Mark seriously.

"I don't want you to resent me, Mark." She breathed, placing a hand on his leg affectionately. Mark shuffled around, sitting up beside her. He placed her hand back on his leg and covered it with his.

"I would never resent you, Lex."

Lexie smiled sadly, enjoying the feeling of his hand on hers. She shut her eyes and let all of their happy moments flash through her mind. It made her heart pound against her chest. Lexie had never loved anyone more than she loved Mark. Not George, not Alex, not Jackson. No love she had, or thought she had, for anyone could measure up to her love for Mark Sloan. He was everything to her. While her mind was caught in the past, Mark leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips. Caught up in the moment, Lexie kissed him back. They sat on the bed in the on-call room and kissed passionately for a few minutes before Lexie managed to snap out of it again.

"M-Mark… Mark, no." She stuttered nervously, pushing him away gently. His sad, gorgeous bluey-green eyes fell to the ground. Lexie knew that if she didn't do it now, she would never be able to do it and that would be unhealthy. Taking one last deep breath, she took Mark's hand in hers and looked him straight in the eyes.

"It's… over," She whispered, her heart breaking as she watched the emotions flash through Mark's eyes. "It's over for now… it has to be. Callie needs you. Sofia needs you. And I-I didn't know Arizona like the two of you did. I don't and never will understand her loss on the same level and that has created distance between us."

Lexie slid the ring off of her finger and put it into Mark's hand gently, squeezing it tight. "I never meant to force you into any of this when you weren't ready."

As she stood up to leave, Mark grabbed her hand, the tears falling down his face. Lexie shut her eyes and tried to imagine she wasn't in the on-call room, breaking up with the love of her life.

"Don't go, Lex." Mark begged, squeezing her hand. "I need you."

"I know about you almost kissing Teddy at Joe's the other night." Lexie blurted out. "That's why I was so mad..."

Mark released her hand. She knew this would shock him.

"I-I'm sorry." Mark whispered under his breath. He couldn't look Lexie in the eyes anymore.

"I know you are," Lexie said soothingly, walking back to the bed and placing her hands on his face, looking at him directly. Despite the sadness she was feeling, she managed to smile at him warmly, "But you aren't ready for this, Mark. That's why I have to walk away. You need to heal and find yourself again, without me."

Lexie smiled again and stroked his beard affectionately. Mark tried to look up at her but couldn't keep eye contact. Lexie squeezed both of his hands gently, bringing them up to her face to kiss lovingly.

"I love you, Mark." She whispered, not able to hold the tears in anymore. Lexie didn't want Mark to see her cry. Not now. She knew it would only make all of this harder on the both of them. After taking one last look at him and taking in his beauty, Lexie got up and left as fast as she could not allowing herself to turn back.

As the door shut, Mark felt the darkness enclosing on him. He had managed to keep it together, at least a little bit,while Lexie was in the room. Now that he was alone, he let his heavy head fall into his hands as the tears rolled gently down his cheeks.

* * *

><p>When Callie had finally made it to Teddy's office, she had to wait a few minutes while she was on the phone. Bailey was still beside her, trying to seem busy by pretending to read a chart.<p>

"I'll come and find you after I've spoken to her." Callie offered after they had been waiting around for a few minutes. Bailey pondered on this for a second before she nodded and walked away, "Yes you will."

After Bailey had gone, Callie was only waiting another minute before Teddy opened the door and welcomed her in with a friendly smile. There was something new in her smile, Callie noted, but she thought nothing of it.

"Hey, just the girl I wanted to see!" Teddy exclaimed excitedly, shutting the door behind Callie. "Take a seat."

Callie smiled and did as she said, taking a seat in front of her desk. Teddy's desk was remarkably neat. All the sheets and things on her desk were organised and nicely placed. As she looked around the office, Callie realised that this was her first time in there since Teddy had become Chief.

"Sorry for leaving the other morning without saying goodbye," Teddy said, breaking Callie's train of thought.

"Oh, right! Yeah I meant to thank you…" Callie paused. "Wait, did you just say the other _morning_?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I thought you put me into bed and then left. I don't remember you spending the night…"

Teddy gasped slightly and covered her mouth with her hand. Her gaze fell to the floor as she stood up abruptly. Callie watched as Teddy paced around her office, cursing under her breath.

"W-what's wrong?" Callie asked hesitantly, put off by Teddy's odd behaviour. "Why are you pacing and cursing under your breath? You put me to bed and went home, right? That's what happened?"l

Teddy shut her eyes and drew her eyebrows together sadly as she took a seat at her desk again. Mustering all the strength she could, Teddy looked Callie directly in the eyes.

"You really don't remember us sleeping together?" Teddy blurted out, covering her mouth with her hand again. She hadn't meant to blurt it out so blatantly. Callie widened her eyes at Teddy, at a loss for words. The two of them sat in silence for a moment, both of their thoughts running wild. Callie's heart was racing as she attempted to wrap her head around what Teddy had just blurted out.

"We did _what?_" Callie whispered, not sure she could really understand. She didn't remember sleeping with Teddy at all. Had Teddy not realised how drunk Callie was that night? _Why would she…_ Callie's thoughts were going mad. She could see that Teddy's lips were moving. She was trying to apologise to Callie, but Callie couldn't hear anything. She was in another world. She was in complete and utter disbelief.

"We did… _what_?" Callie repeated, her head falling into her hands.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Welp, another long one! I hope you guys enjoyed this! It was my favourite chapter to write so far. :) Two interesting confrontations! At least... I hope you guys found it interesting. :3

Next chapter, expect an adorable Mark x Callie talk. They are both going through big events in their life (Mark and Lexie breaking up & Callie finding out she slept with Teddy) and need their best friend to help them through it. There will also be some great Lexie Grey and Teddy Altman moments (separate moments). Teddy will be going through a hard time too, realising that she slept with Callie without her being fully aware of it. And of course, Lexie will be really upset over her break up with Mark. Who will she find solace with? How will Callie come to terms with what Teddy has told her? How will Teddy deal with finding out that she slept with someone who wasn't aware of what was happening? Will Mark be able to deal with his break up with Lexie?

All of this will be revealed in the next chapter! (Heh heh... my attempt at a cliff hanger.)

***AS ALWAYS PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW. Tell me what you thought of the chapter! Did you like it or did you hate it? Too much dialogue, or too little? Any and all criticism is appreciated!* **


	8. Flashback: The Guilt

**Author's Note:** I know I haven't updated in awhile! When I published the first seven chapters, I was on holiday! I'm now back home and I've gotten straight back into work and hanging out with friends and all of that boring non-fanfic related stuff ;). But here's a new chapter! It's only a flashback, but I've already started chapter 9 and will have that one out soon too. This flashback is to explain why Mark has been hit so hard by Arizona's death and why it has significantly hindered his relationship with Lexie. Hope you guys enjoy it!

* * *

><p><em>Flashback. The day of the crash. <em>

Mark's eyes shot open. The sun shone through the trees above him while the birds all chirped loudly in communication. Slowly all of Mark's senses were returning. He could feel the grass underneath him scratching his back through his ripped shirt. He could smell something burning far away. As his senses became more and more aware, he soon started to hear screaming. Mark shot up, suddenly feeling more alert. Before he even had the time to sus everything out, he was standing up listening for the screams. In a millisecond, he heard the first one.

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP." _Arizona_. Mark's heart was racing as he followed the sound of the scream. Within two steps in that direction, he heard another scream.

"H-HELP ME." This time it was Lexie. Mark stopped dead in his tracks. The scream was coming from a completely different direction. Without a serious thought, Mark's legs were moving in the direction of Lexie's scream. Behind him he could still hear Arizona's shriek of pain. He tried to block it out, focusing on the ground in front of him and tuning into Lexie's screams.

"Lex!" Mark yelled at the top of his lungs in the direction of her screams, breaking out into a jog. He had managed to ignore Arizona's constant screaming and focus on his goal – finding Lexie.

"M-mark?" She screamed back. "Mark, where are you?!"

Mark followed the sound of her voice. His heart was beating out of his chest.

"Lex, you need to keep screaming," He demanded loudly, still jogging. "I need to follow the sound of your screams!"

Before he even finished his sentence, she was screaming again. Mark wasn't sure if it was because he had asked her to, or if it was because she was in pain. The screams were getting louder and louder as Mark was getting closer and closer. It wasn't long until he finally found her with some debris crushing her pelvis and left arm.

"M-mark… y-you…" Her voice was starting to fade as her breath was becoming heavy, "found me."

"You need to hold on, Lexie. I'm going to get you out of here." Mark responded, his voice hard. He was aware that Lexie's eyes were starting to close. "Stay awake!"

"S-stay… awake?" A small smile spread across Lexie's face, "But I'm _tired_… Can't we watch this movie another time?"

"She's hallucinating." A cold and hard voice stated behind Mark. He turned to face Cristina Yang, one of Seattle Grace's best surgeons in the history of ever. In any other circumstance Mark probably would have been annoyed at the presence of Yang, but if anyone could help him help Lexie, it was her. Without any instruction, Yang started to help Mark pull off the piece of debris that was crushing her arm. Lexie let out a scream in pain, her eyes shooting open.

"Well, she's definitely going to stay awake now." Cristina said coolly, moving straight to the next piece of debris, "her arm is definitely broken."

"Unless she passes out in pain." Mark replied as he started to lift the next piece off her pelvis. He shot Lexie a sympathetic look. She looked back at him, her eyes reflecting a significant amount of fear. His heart broke. He never wanted to make her feel pain, even if he had to. Cristina caught onto their exchanges and shot Mark a reassuring glance.

"You're doing the right thing." She breathed, her voice sounding as warm as her usual cool voice could sound. As they lifted the last piece of debris off, they heard a gasp behind them. Even though neither of them could turn their focus from what they were doing, it was obvious who was behind them.

"Lexie?" The voice behind them was cold, almost as cold as Cristina's. "Is she okay?"

"Meredith?" Lexie's voice was quiet and she sounded almost out of breath, "Meredith, what are you doing here? Is everything okay? Where are Derek and Zola?"

Meredith shot Mark and Cristina a confused glance. They both told Meredith what was happening at the same time. Not missing a beat, they both threw the piece of debris away from Lexie's weak body.

"There are no obvious signs of bleeding," Yang explained, examining Lexie's body. "But we can't rule out internal bleeding."

Mark's face was expressionless. He was exhausted. He could tell Meredith and Cristina were too. It took everyone a few minutes before they realised they were still missing two people. Mark was soon reminded of Arizona's screams. He tried to tune everything else out in an attempt to hear them again. _Nothing. _Mark shot up and started to walk the way he had initially come from, ignoring Cristina and Meredith. Still nothing.

"Where's Derek?" Cristina asked behind him, squeezing Meredith's hand. Mark continued to walk in the direction, trying to tune out their conversation.

"He's okay," Meredith breathed, relief spreading across her face. It was soon replaced with exhaustion again. "I came to find you all. We found a flare gun. We need to all be together in case something comes by."

Mark turned to face them, his face hard. "Is Robbins with you?"

Meredith nodded her head slightly, her expression falling to the floor, "That's another reason I came to find you."

Mark's heart stopped. This could only mean bad news. He turned around and walked back towards Yang and Grey.

"She's not dead," Meredith blurted out, noting Mark's pained expression. "But she is stuck underneath a small part of the plane. Derek is with her."

Mark felt himself start to breathe again. He didn't even know he was holding his breath.

"Where are they?" Mark's voice was loud and demanding, "Take me to them!"

Without a thought, Mark picked Lexie up and signalled Meredith to lead the way. Cristina and Meredith exchanged glances before they both got up and led the way. It wasn't long, or at least it didn't feel like long for Mark, before they were all reunited. Derek's expression lit up at the sight of Mark for a split second. They exchanged relieved expressions before they both looked down at Robbins. Her eyes were constantly opening and closing, her breathing was hard. Derek was holding her hand. Mark placed Lexie down gently on a laid out jacket and watched as Meredith took a seat next to her and held her hand. She smiled at Mark warmly, signalling that it was okay to step away from her. Mark nodded and made his way towards Arizona. Derek stood up and moved, allowing Mark to take his spot. He quickly held onto her hand and squeezed it affectionately.

"Robbins?" Mark's voice was quiet and weak. He only then realised how truly exhausted he was. "Hey, Robbins, it's me!"

Arizona's eyes opened slightly as she smiled towards him, "Mark…"

Mark squeezed her hand in response. He noted the large debris on her pelvis. She definitely was stuck.

"We're going to get you out of here, Arizona," He said confidently, drawing circles on her hand with his thumb, "You're going to go home to Callie and Sofia!"

He watched a smile spread across Arizona's face. She let out a cough before she could speak.

"R-really?" Her eyes were still opening and closing, "because I really feel like I'm dying here."

Mark's breathing stopped again. Arizona's blunt words hit him hard like a tonne of bricks. His mind flashed back to when he heard her screams and had ignored them. He could have reached Arizona earlier and helped her out in some way. He wasn't sure in what way he could help her while she was stuck under a part of the plane, but he still felt guilty. He had ignored the screams of his daughter's second mother. The screams of his best friend's wife. Most of all, he had ignored the screams of his dear _friend. _

"Yes," Mark responded softly, his breathing hard, "Because if you don't, I will never forgive myself."

In that same moment, the sound of a helicopter came from above the trees. Everyone's eyes shot up as Derek reached for the flare gun and let out a shot.


	9. Comfort And Confrontation

_Present Day. _

"Hey…" Callie whispered, taking a seat next to Mark on the bottom bunk. "Lexie said I might find you here."

Mark sat in silence, staring at the wall as he fiddled with the ring in his hand. He flinched at the mention of Lexie.

"Oh, Mark…" Callie breathed sadly, watching as he fiddled with the diamond ring in silence. She didn't need him to say anything for her to figure out what had happened. It had been almost an hour since Lexie left the on-call room. Mark had finished crying not long after her departure but continued to sit alone in the darkness. Callie rubbed his back gently, taking a deep breath before she begun to speak.

"This is probably a bad time to talk about my problems," She started, not making eye contact. Callie wasn't sure how Mark was feeling in this moment. He was most likely sad or frustrated and she didn't want to risk locking eyes with a frustrated Mark Sloan. "But something big kind of happened the other night. Well, apparently it did. I mean, I think it did. I don't think Teddy would lie about it happening…"

Mark took a deep breath before he sat up straight and faced his friend. He did his best to smile warmly at her to signal that he was listening. Callie smiled back gratefully, removing her hand from his back.

"Oh god, I don't want to say this out loud. I _can't_ say it out loud. It's so… _wrong._ I'm a bad mother, Mark!"

It was Mark's turn to place a reassuring hand on Callie's back.

"Spit it out, Torres."

Callie sighed in defeat as she turned to face Mark head on. She looked up at him helplessly, his warm eyes looking down at her. If Callie were going to come to terms with what had happened, she had to tell her best friend. Mark Sloan was her best friend. She knew she could tell Mark anything and everything. Even if he judged her, Callie knew that he would always be on her side.

"I slept with the Chief…"

"You slept with Webber? Seriously? What was that like?" Despite how hurt he was feeling after his break up with Lexie, Sloan let out a chuckle.

Callie hit Mark hard on the shoulder, trying her best not to laugh with him. Sometimes she wondered how she had ended up being best friends with such a moron.

"No, you idiot!" She said between laughs, "Webber hasn't been Chief in years! I mean our current Chief of Surgery…"

"Oh right," Mark responded, still chuckling. "I still refer to Webber as the Chief in my head."

As they continued to laugh at the idea of Callie sleeping with Webber, Mark started to process what he had just been told. The current Chief of Surgery is Teddy Altman. Callie just admitted that she slept with the current Chief of Surgery.

"Wait… _wait_," Mark said, grinning as he wrapped his head around Callie's words. "You slept with Altman?"

Rolling her eyes at his perverted grin, Callie nodded. Now that it was out in the open and Mark had finally wrapped his head around it, Callie started to realise exactly what had happened. She was finally wrapping her head around it all too.

"Oh my god," She whispered, falling back onto the bed, shutting her eyes. "I slept with Teddy Altman. I haven't slept with anyone since Arizona died."

Mark's grin faded before he fell back next to Callie, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.

"Lexie broke up with me."

* * *

><p>Upon leaving the on-call room, Lexie found herself walking towards day care. For some reason she had wanted to see Sofia. She had never had a strong relationship with Mark, Callie and Arizona's daughter. Sofia was one of the reasons Lexie and Mark had broken up in the past. Of course Lexie didn't hold that against her, but in the past she never felt comfortable being around Sofia for a long period of time. Especially not without Mark or Callie. For the first time ever, all Lexie wanted was to lay her eyes on Mark's baby.<p>

On her way to the day care, Lexie ran into Jackson. He was looking for Mark. At this point, Lexie was sick of people asking her where he was.

"He's in a damn on-call room!" She snapped, turning to walk away from Jackson. Before she got too far, Jackson was standing in front of her, not allowing her to go any further.

"Woah, what's up with you?" He asked, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Even though their break up had been awkward, after the plane crash Jackson and Lexie had become good friends. They weren't the best of friends, but they were definitely important to each other.

"Nothing," Lexie lied, shrugging off his hand and continuing on to the day care. "I just want to go and see Sofia."

Jackson followed Lexie as she sped towards the closest elevator. It wasn't until they were both alone in the elevator that she had even noticed he was still there. She rolled her eyes and clicked on the level for the day care. In seconds the elevator doors were opening and she was speeding away again with Jackson close behind. Lexie tried to ignore him as she entered the day care and spotted Sofia in a millisecond. She walked up to her with a big smile spread across her face. Within seconds she was picking Sofia up and cuddling her. Jackson stood beside them, smiling to himself. Lexie continued to try and ignore him, but eventually she tried again.

"Just leave me alone, Jackson… _Please._"

"Just tell me what's wrong and then I'll leave you alone." He wasn't going to budge. Jackson had always been a little stubborn. He had also been able to always tell whenever something was bothering Lexie. At least he did when they were dating. Before she responded, Lexie kissed Sofia gently on the forehead before she placed her back down on the floor. She watched as Sofia walked away quietly and found a friend to play with. Now that she wasn't holding Mark's baby, Lexie turned to face Jackson. He wasn't the first person that she wanted to tell. She had hoped it would be Meredith who found out first, but he wasn't going to go away.

"I broke up with Mark." As the words came out of her mouth, Jackson's eyes dropped to her left hand. He noticed the absence of the wedding ring and sighed sadly.

"Now will you just leave me alone? I just want to be alone." Lexie's voice was hard and cold; her tone masked the heartbreak she was feeling. She watched as Jackson nodded subtly and started to walk away. She watched the door close behind him before she let the sadness consume her. The tears began to roll down her face softly. Lexie made sure she didn't make a sound. She didn't want to alarm or confuse Sofia. As she turned to leave the day care, crying silently to herself, she found herself staring at Jackson again. He had looked through the window after he left to see Lexie break down. Not long after he was back in the day care, waiting for her to notice him. Even though she didn't really want to, Lexie found herself leaning into him and crying quietly against his shirt. Jackson wrapped an arm around her and led her out of the day care, whispering softly to her.

"I'm really sorry, Lexie. I know how much he means to you."

Lexie nodded in response, finding herself starting to cry even more.

* * *

><p>Teddy spent about half an hour searching for Callie throughout the hospital. She asked around. No nurses or doctors knew where she was. It wasn't until she spotted Lexie with Jackson that she actually had some hope of finding Callie.<p>

"Lexie!" Teddy called out, watching as Lexie looked up from Jackson's scrubs. She noted her tear-stained face, but tried to ignore it and focus on why she was calling out, "Have you seen Callie?"

Jackson wrapped his arm around Lexie's shoulders and squeezed them encouragingly. Lexie took a deep breath and pointed to the on-call room to their left, "She's in there."

Before Teddy could even knock, Callie and Mark emerged. They were smiling and laughing with each other, but the tears on their faces were still notable.

"O-oh, hey." Teddy stuttered, taking a step back. She hadn't expected them to emerge so quickly. Callie stared, her face emotionless. Mark took a step away from them and walked over to the nurse's station to give them some privacy. As he walked over, he locked eyes with Lexie, noting that she was sobbing in Jackson's arms. Lexie saw the sadness in his eyes and looked back at him sympathetically. Jackson saw their exchange and removed his arm from Lexie's shoulders before he took a small step away from her to create some distance between them.

"Not now, Teddy." Callie muttered, walking towards Mark. "Right now I'm going to go down to the day care and I'm going to give my beautiful daughter a big cuddle and a big kiss before I prep for an important surgery."

Teddy blocked Callie's way and looked at her hopefully, "I just need to let you know that I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen like tha-"

"You didn't mean to sleep with me while I was drunk, you mean?" Callie interrupted Teddy, her voice angry and loud, "While I was mourning the death of my beloved wife?"

Before Teddy could rebut, Callie pushed past her and grabbed Mark by the arm, leading him to the closest elevator. Mark shot Altman a guilty look before he turned and made his way to the elevator with Callie. He didn't give Lexie or Jackson a second look.

"I-I…" Teddy said under her breath, noticing all the staff and patients watching her. She hadn't even managed to get much of a word in. She had spent a lot of time in the mirror practicing what she was going to say to Callie to apologise. She hadn't expected that Callie would shoot her down so fast. Let alone make such a scene.

"Well…" Jackson cleared his throat awkwardly, "I'm going to go… I'm sure there's a patient somewhere just waiting for me to fix them."

Lexie smiled in spite of herself and knocked Jackson with her hip gently, "Thanks for today, Jackson."

Jackson smiled in response before he made his way around the corner to a patient's room. Lexie watched as Teddy tried not to break down in front of everyone. It hadn't even been a week since Teddy and Mark had kissed, but Lexie couldn't help feel sorry for her. She knew exactly how it felt to be watched by everyone in the hospital. After the shooting a couple of years ago, everyone had thought Lexie was crazy. Everyone in the hospital watched her every move, including Mark.

"What is everyone looking at?" Lexie said, raising her voice. She walked over to stand in front of Teddy protectively. "I'm sure you all have some work to do!"

Everyone shuffled around awkwardly before getting back to what they were doing. Lexie turned around briefly and shot Teddy a reassuring glance.

"You didn't have to do that, Grey." Teddy whispered a subtle hint of gratefulness in her voice. A few tears had made their way down her face. Teddy wiped them away quickly before anyone noticed.

"I wanted to." Lexie responded as she walked away, wiping her own tears away from her face.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I spent so long trying to figure out what to put in this chapter... I wanted to expand on other relationships and not just Mark x Lexie and Callie x Teddy. So this chapter I focused on Mark x Callie (one of my favourite, if not my favourite, friendships on the show ever!) and Lexie x Jackson & Lexie x Teddy friendships! I think Lexie x Teddy will make an interesting friendship... I'm not sure how far I'll go with it, but I like the idea of it! I also think Jackson and Lexie make great friends. I didn't hate them as a couple, but of course I disliked it since they were in the way of Slexie! So I think they'd make really, really good friends! And I'm going to explore it more in future chapters.

I know this wasn't a very exciting chapter :( I tried so hard to try and make it exciting, but I just needed to publish SOMETHING. So this is it! I will try and make it much more interesting next chapter which I will start planning out now! I hope you guys enjoyed it anyway. At least a little bit. As always, please review xx


	10. The Crash

_A few weeks later. _

The past few weeks in the halls of Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital had been awkward to say the least. Most of the staff had picked up or heard gossip surrounding the drama with Callie and Teddy, while no one except Callie and Jackson knew about Mark and Lexie's break up. Lexie had wanted to keep it that way at least for a while.

"Is it okay if we keep our um… _break up_ between us for now?" Lexie couldn't even look at Mark as she spoke to him. It was the first time she had been able to say anything to him since their awkward encounter outside the on-call room. The only reason she was speaking to him now was because he had found her cuddling Sofia in the day care.

"Don't Torres and Avery already know?" Mark was staring directly at Lexie. He was never subtle when he was looking at her. He always made it so obvious. Lexie felt her cheeks go red, causing her to turn her back to Mark before she spoke again.

"I mean besides them. Can we please just keep it between us four?" Lexie felt her voice starting to break. Even though it was her choice to be ignoring Mark for this period of time, she didn't enjoy it. Lexie _missed_ Mark. She missed him more than she could even admit to herself. Talking to him was making her feel an overload of emotion: happiness, love, excitement as well as sadness, heartbreak and hurt. A couple of tears escaped her eyes and she tried to wipe them away with one hand, while the other held Sofia up. Mark realised what she was trying to do so he stepped in closer and wiped the last tear away from her cheek. He felt how warm her cheeks were and grinned to himself. Lexie quickly pulled herself together and put Sofia back down on the ground.

"She's really beautiful." Lexie said softly, admiring Sofia as she ran towards another little girl. Mark shifted his gaze from Lexie onto his daughter.

"Of course she is," He responded jokingly, crossing his arms across his chest. "Have you seen me?"

Lexie let out a laugh. She could feel Mark's eyes on her again. Her heart began to race as she tried to ignore the urge to hold his hand. She felt Mark brush his hand against hers subtly, causing her to look up at him. He was staring directly at her again, his gorgeous eyes sparkling. Lexie took a deep breath before she took a step away and made for the door.

"I-um-I…" Lexie tried to think of some excuse to get out of the day care, "I have to go eat. I haven't eaten yet today! Can you believe that? I'm so hungry! I also need to pee like… _really_ bad."

Mark watched on as Lexie hurried out, the door shutting behind her. He laughed to himself before turning to pick up his beloved daughter.

"_'I also need to pee like really bad'_?" Lexie repeated, leaning against the wall outside the day care. She covered her face with her palm in embarrassment, "What kind of excuse is _that_?!"

* * *

><p>Teddy had been caught up in her office for the past few weeks. Being Chief was making it hard to do many surgeries. After the confrontation with Callie, all she had wanted to do was operate to clear her mind. Unfortunately, there had been too many other duties she had to tend to before she could even think about being in an O.R.<p>

Today was no different. From the second Teddy entered the hospital; she was bombarded with proposals, requests and a bunch of other things she had to deal with. The nurses needed her to sort out their rosters – there were overlaps. The O.R. board was a mess and needed to be sorted out… On top of all of that, there was a pile of administrative forms and paperwork that she had to get through before the end of the day.

"Owen couldn't have warned me about all of this?" Teddy whispered under her breath, massaging her temples. She let her head fall onto the pile of paperwork on the desk. For a few minutes she just lay there, trying to wish away all of this Chief work. If it wasn't for a knock at the door, she probably would have stayed like that the whole day.

"Come in," She said, her voice low and tired. When no one responded for a few seconds, she walked over to her door. As she placed her hand on the door knob to open it, she heard some mumbling from behind the door.

"Why am _I_ apologising?" It was Callie's voice.

"Just apologise, Torres." Mark's voice. "I'm bored of the tension in this hospital."

"You just think it's tense because everyone knows about your break up with Lexie." Callie's voice was menacing. She was purposely trying to start a fight so she could avoid seeing Teddy.

"No one knows about that besides you and Avery, so keep your voice down. Lexie doesn't want anyone knowing." Mark was whispering as best he could, but his deep and gruff voice made it easy for Teddy to hear everything he was saying

"Oh come on, Mark," Teddy could hear in Callie's voice that she was rolling her eyes, "_Everybody_ knows."

Without even realising it, Teddy had begun leaning against the door to listen in on their conversation. When Mark opened the door suddenly, he accidentally pushed Callie into her. For a split second Mark almost looked apologetic but he knew he had to shut the door before Callie tried to escape.

"Have fun, ladies!" He chimed enthusiastically as he shut the door behind him.

Teddy and Callie were left standing in silence, just glaring at each other.

* * *

><p>After a busy day of ignoring Mark Sloan – which is not an easy task – and trying to deal with incompetent interns, Lexie could finally leave the hospital. She wasn't sure where she was going to go. She couldn't go stay at Mark's place, it would be too awkward. She didn't think it would be a good idea to crash at Jackson's and in all honesty she didn't <em>want<em> to stay with April Kepner. The only other place she could think to stay at wa_s _Alex's. She had already spent a few nights there. On her way out, she coincidentally ran into Karev. He was on his way out as well.

"Alex!" She beamed, trying not to make it obvious that she needed something from him, "How was your day? How was paediatrics?"

Alex rolled his eyes and sighed, slowing his pace down. He clearly wanted to get out of the hospital as soon as possible and Lexie was making that a little bit harder.

"It was fine," He grumbled, not believing his own words. "What do you want, Little Grey?"

Lexie considered pretending that she didn't need a favour from him but she knew it wouldn't work. She needed something, she may as well just ask.

"Can I crash at yours for a while?" She looked up at Alex pleadingly as they continued to exit the hospital. Their strides were in sync. Karev looked down at her in disgust, his eyebrows furrowed. He seemed to ponder on it for a second before shaking his head.

"No." His response caught Lexie off guard, causing her to stop in her tracks. She had expected that he would need some convincing, but she hadn't realised he would flat out reject her. For a few seconds she just stood there, watching Alex walk away. Behind her, she could hear Mark and Callie talking animatedly to Sofia as they walked out of the hospital doors. She turned to look behind her for a split second, locking eyes with Mark. Before she knew it, she was chasing after Alex. When she finally caught up, she placed her hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

"Please, Alex," She pleaded, looking him dead in the eyes, "I _need_ this. I'll do the dishes and I'll cook dinner!"

"I don't want _my _house to turn into a frat house like Mer's was." He grunted, finally looking her in the eyes. She saw that he was starting to give in to her request. Lexie smiled at him warmly and squeezed his shoulder.

"I won't even tell anyone that I'm living at yours. We can keep it a secret!"

"Fine, but if I ever need to use the shower, I get to kick you out of the bathroom." He demanded, shrugging her hand off of his shoulder. Lexie beamed in response and punched him against the shoulder playfully.

"What the hell was that for?" He spat, looking at her angrily.

"I'm not entirely sure… it seemed right in the moment." She bit her lip and followed him to his car, "Also, I need to go buy some tampons. Can we drop in to the store on the way home?"

Alex didn't respond, but Lexie knew that he would drive her to the store. As she opened the door of his car, she watched as he got comfortable in the driver's seat. It was in that moment that she could finally see what Meredith saw in Alex. He was letting her stay in his house even though they weren't particularly friends. They weren't family. They just worked together and dated in the past. Lexie wondered why Alex would let her stay with him with hardly any demands in return. She wondered this for most of the drive to the store. Her money was on the fact that he was such good friends with her sister. He was probably doing this for Meredith, she thought to herself suddenly feeling like a charity case. As she was feeling sorry for herself, a bright light blinded her. Lexie looked into the light and squinted. It took her a moment to realise what was happening. Everything started happening in slow motion. Alex's head turned to face her slowly, sheer fear spread across his face. He reached out and grabbed Lexie's hand, squeezing it. She looked down at that exchange before realising what was happening. Another car was going to crash into them. It was too late to move out of the way. Alex had figured it out before she did. He was shutting his eyes while simultaneously squeezing her hand harder. The bright light consumed Lexie, her heart suddenly beating outside of her chest. All sound, touch and smell no longer existed to her. Suddenly everything was just black. She was no longer in the car with Alex. They were no longer driving to the store. There was just… black.


	11. Truth Hurts

"Lex?" Mark's voice was low and tired. He hadn't slept yet. He had been sitting by Lexie's bed side. No one else had arrived to see Lexie yet and he didn't want to leave her alone. He probably wouldn't have left even if someone else had been there.

Mark had been at Callie's apartment eating dinner with her and Sofia when he got the call about Lexie. Jackson had been the one to inform him. He seemed to be Mark's bearer of bad news since the plane crash.

"What is it, Avery?" Mark had been feeding Sofia while Callie was finishing her own dinner, "Is there a special plastics case that I can't possibly miss, seeing as I'm the best plastics surgeon in the world?"

Callie scoffed at this, throwing her napkin at him. Sometimes his arrogance still surprised her.

"Um… not exactly," Jackson muttered, completely ignoring Mark's cockiness. "It's Lexie. She's here… in the hospital."

Mark laughed, ruffling Sofia's hair before standing up and walking over to the couch. Callie watched on intrigued, trying to read Mark's body language.

"So? She works there..." He said sounding bored, rolling his eyes at Callie to express his disinterest in the phone call. Callie laughed to herself as she picked up her plate and walked over to the sink to wash it.

"No…" Jackson mumbled, picking up on Mark's disinterest. He needed to tell him now. He couldn't sugar coat it. "Lexie's been in a car accident. She and Karev are unconscious."

Mark felt his breathing stop. Suddenly all his emotions from the plane crash surfaced again. For a split second he felt like he was back at the crash site, searching for Lexie. His heart was racing. When Mark didn't say anything for a few seconds, Callie looked up from her plate.

"Mark?" She was worried now. Mark always had something to say. "What's going on?"

When there was still no response, she walked over and grabbed the phone out of his hand. She had Jackson fill her in. Callie gasped and fell onto the couch next to Mark. She thanked Jackson and hung up the phone. Mark was staring aimlessly at the blank television screen in front of him.

"You need to go." She breathed; placing a hand on Mark's back, giving him a slight push. "_Right now._"

Mark snapped out of his trance, stood up, grabbed his coat and was out the door in what felt like a split second. He had never moved so fast before. It didn't take him long to be at Lexie's side.

"I love you, Lex." He whispered, wrapping his big hands around her small, fragile hand. He moved it up to his mouth and kissed it gently. "So you have to wake up. You can't die on me."

"She won't die." A familiar voice cut in. Mark turned around and found himself looking at Meredith Grey. She was holding Zola and Mark noticed her pregnant stomach. Meredith followed his gaze to her stomach and forced a smile, "She won't die, okay? She's a Grey. We're survivors."

Mark stood up, releasing Lexie's hand and walked over to Meredith and Zola. He kissed them both on the forehead before he hugged them tight. Zola giggled in his ear as Meredith let out a sigh. She had been holding her breath.

"Okay," Mark responded, grabbing Meredith's hand and squeezing it. He looked her straight in the eye and gave her a subtle wink, "She's a Grey. She won't die on us."

* * *

><p>Callie had left her apartment with Sofia not long after Mark had. She dressed Sofia and herself in warmer clothing before running out, locking the door behind her. Sofia's eyes were darting around the place. It was clear that she was confused as to why her mother was running into the elevator like a mad person after dinner time.<p>

"I know you should be going to sleep, baby" Callie whispered, kissing Sofia affectionately on the cheek, "But Daddy and Lexie need us, okay? We'll sleep soon."

Even though Sofia couldn't understand anything Callie was saying, being able to say that aloud calmed Callie down a little bit. On the whole drive to the hospital, her heart was racing. When she parked and got Sofia out of the car, she was running again. The doors of the hospital opened automatically as Callie ran in, looking around frantically. She hadn't really thought through what she was doing or where she was going. She was just running. She didn't know which rooms Lexie and Alex were in. Suddenly Callie was no longer rushing, but her mind was. She was puffed. She felt a droplet of sweat roll down her face.

"Callie?" Teddy approached Callie from behind, tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention. Had this been a week ago, Callie probably would have exploded angrily and made a big scene. But after their heart to heart in her office the other day, Callie suddenly felt closer than ever with Teddy. They had talked for over an hour. In total, they were probably in the office for about two hours. They sat in silence for the first hour, not quite sure of what to say. It was Teddy who broke the silence first.

"Look Callie," She said cautiously, watching Callie's body language to make sure she didn't say something that would cause an outburst. "I know that it was hard for you to hear what happened. I shouldn't have kissed you and initiated it all, but you're not the only one who feels bad! I haven't slept with anyone since Henry and…" Teddy's voice was breaking. She didn't want to sound pathetic or make Callie pity her. She had wanted to get everything that she was feeling out in the open. After Callie had yelled at her in front of everyone, Teddy has been angry and upset. After all, she wasn't the only one to blame here. Callie had been drinking too.

"And… it's just hard, okay?" Teddy's gaze fell to her feet as she fiddled with her thumbs awkwardly, "We were both drinking that night… Not just me."

Callie exhaled, releasing her clenched fists. She hadn't even realised that they were clenched.

"I know," She sighed, looking at Teddy. She waited for Teddy to lock eyes with her before she continued, "I'm sorry for making such a scene the other day. I was just angry and confused at myself… I took it out on you."

Teddy smiled warmly at Callie and grabbed her hand across the table. Callie squeezed Teddy's hand in response and smiled back. They talked for a while longer about Arizona and Henry. Neither of them had a chance to really talk about their past loves so they took the time they had then to do just that.

"You know, if Arizona were still alive I think that you and her would be trying to set me up with some rich doctor." Teddy joked, covering her mouth with her hand soon after. She watched Callie's expression hoping that she hadn't said too much. Teddy's shoulders relaxed as Callie let out a laugh.

"Yeah, probably, "She responded, reminiscing. "We made some sexy cupids."

Within minutes, it was like they had never been fighting. If it weren't for Callie being paged to an ortho surgery, they probably would have talked for hours and hours. Teddy had wished they could have.

Now that they were together again, it was obvious that there was no awkwardness left between them. Callie turned to face Teddy, her face full of emotion. She was tired, scared and completely lost. Without needing to say a word, Teddy grabbed Sofia from Callie and led them both to Lexie's room. She smiled at Callie encouragingly to walk into the room, still holding onto Sofia. Callie stood at the door for a moment in silence, taking in the sight of Lexie. She was bruised all over, with scratches all over her face. Her leg was also broken. Next to her bed, Mark and Meredith were sitting on either side, both holding one of Lexie's hands. Derek was standing behind Meredith with a reassuring hand placed on her shoulder. She took the scene in before she decided to speak,

"Meredith, Mark…" She said softly, watching as they both sat up slowly and turned to face her. They both looked so exhausted, like all the energy had been drained out of them. It was the first time Callie had seen Meredith in a long time. She smiled at Meredith as she walked over to give her a hug. She shot Mark an affectionate glance, to which he responded with a weak smile. Derek patted Callie on the back and whispered a weak hello. He was the only one who could seem to speak.

"How is she doing?" Callie asked, breaking the silence. It was a bit of a stupid question. Lexie was obviously doing badly. But Callie needed to say _something_.

"She hasn't woken up yet." Derek answered eventually, when no one else said a word.

"She hasn't woken up, _yet_." Meredith responded determinedly, squeezing Lexie's hand. Callie stared at Lexie, just waiting for her eyes to open in any moment. For a few minutes they all just stared in silence. Teddy stayed outside the room with Sofia, watching on anxiously. When her pager went off, Teddy put Sofia down to read it for a split second. Without a chance of grabbing her, Sofia was running towards Mark. She climbed up onto his lap and reached for Lexie's hand. Everyone watched on with sad eyes as Sofia held Lexie's hand. All of a sudden, Lexie was moving slightly. Callie gave Mark and Meredith a hopeful look as they both shot up and watched on. In seconds, Lexie's eyes were opening. Mark put his hand over Sofia's and squeezed both of their hands.

"Lex, it's me." He said, crying from sheer happiness, "I'm here."

Lexie looked around the room, looking confused. Her eyes landed on the light in the room and soon she was screaming again. The light took her back to the moment just before the car crashed into her and Alex. Her heart was racing as she screamed her lungs out. Teddy ran in and grabbed Sofia, taking her far away from the room. Meredith, Derek, Callie and Mark were all standing now trying to calm Lexie down. Her screaming wouldn't stop. Derek tried to examine Lexie's eyes, but she was moving too much. Mark followed her gaze to the light in her room and quickly turned it off. He watched as Lexie fell back down into her pillow, shutting her eyes. Meredith and Callie were holding her hands now, looking at Lexie with worried expressions. There was silence only for a moment before Lexie spoke her first words since the car crash,

"Alex!" It came out as a whisper even though she was trying to yell, "I-is Alex okay?"

Meredith, Derek, Callie and Mark all exchanged glances. None of them had had a chance to check on Alex yet.

"I'll go check on Alex," Meredith said softly, her exhaustion evident in her voice. "But I'll be back soon, okay?"

Derek shot Meredith a look that said: _I can go check on him if you want to stay here_. But Meredith shook her head. She waited for a response from Lexie, but got nothing. Lexie's eyes were shut again and the room was dark and silent. Mark was back at her side, kissing her hand while Callie sat on the other side, watching on with sad eyes. The rest of the night was spent in silence.

* * *

><p>The next morning Mark was left in Lexie's room by himself. Callie went and found an on-call room for her and Sofia to spend the night in while Meredith and Derek went and slept in a hotel with Zola. Mark had been in and out of sleep the whole night. He didn't want to be asleep if Lexie ever woke up again. He wanted to be there to calm her down. He wanted her to hear him say he loved her.<p>

"Just wake up," He breathed sadly, his head falling against her bed, "We can work through this whole mess together. We don't have to be broken up."

When Lexie didn't wake up or respond, he continued.

"There's a reason why I've been so messed up lately…" Mark took a deep breath and made sure no one was about to walk into the room. "I know I've been slowly becoming myself again lately but you always know when I'm not completely open..."

Even though he knew Lexie wasn't going to respond, Mark still waited. He waited a couple of breaths before he opened his mouth again.

"I haven't told anyone this yet. Not even the counselor we were forced to see after the crash. Not even Torres. Especially not Torres actually." Mark watched Lexie's chest go up and then down again. It actually relaxed him. The fact that he could watch her breathe in silence made him calm.

"Before I found you… I heard Arizona screaming. You were both screaming but the screams were coming from completely different directions… I had to choose which screams to follow…" Mark's voice was starting to break. He thought he would be able to tell this story without crying. His mind kept jumping back to the moment where he decided to run in the opposite direction from Arizona's screams, "I chose you, Lex. I ran towards your screams and I saved you. I let Arizona die. And every time I saw you after the crash was just a reminder that I let my friend die. But that isn't even the worst part…"

Mark wiped away the tears that were falling down his face. They were slow, but they kept coming. He wanted Lexie to wake up. He wanted her to hear his confession and comfort him. He wanted her to be awake to hear this.

"The worst part is that I would do it again. If I were put in that position again I would choose you. I will choose you every time, Lex. No question. So you can't die on me!"

The tears continued to fall down his face. Mark shut his eyes and kissed Lexie's hands over and over. For a few seconds he just sat in silence, sobbing to himself silently. It wasn't until he felt someone watching him that he opened his eyes and turned around. For a split second, his heart stopped. Mark stared, holding his breath. He turned to face a tear-stained Calliope Torres holding a sleeping Sofia against her shoulder. Mark felt a chill up his spine as he looked at them both in complete silence.

"Is… Is that all true?" Callie asked in a quiet and weak voice. Her eyes were staring in Mark's direction, but they were looking right through him. Her mind was playing his confession to Lexie over and over.

"Callie…" Mark responded, his eyes dropping to the floor. He released Lexie's hand and stood up to walk towards his best friend and beloved daughter. As he got closer and closer, Callie took a few steps back. She was no longer looking right through him. Callie stared right at Mark, her face reflecting sheer anger.

"I said," She yelled through gritted teeth, no longer keeping her voice down. "IS THAT ALL TRUE?"

Nurses started hovering around Lexie's room, absorbing the drama that was unfolding. Mark couldn't respond with words. His gaze stayed glued to the floor as he nodded his head slowly. Even though he wasn't looking at her, Mark could feel Callie's eyes shooting daggers at him. She let out an angry sigh before she completely broke down. Callie was sobbing uncontrollably, causing Sofia to wake up.

"Oh great," Callie muttered, placing Sofia on the ground and trying not to cry anymore. "I woke up Sofia."

Mark stepped in closer and tried to pick Sofia up. Callie hit his hand away and looked up at him. Her expression reflected betrayal, anger and pain. Mark had never seen Callie look at him like that before.

"Don't you _dare_ touch her!" Callie picked Sofia up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She had managed to control her crying. Mark continued to watch on, his heartbreaking at the look on Callie's face. By this point, the hospital staff had started to crowd around, pretending to be reading charts. Mark looked up at them all, causing them to run in all kinds of directions. Once they had all dispersed, Mark noticed that Meredith and Derek were nearby as well, covering Zola's ears. Derek shot Mark a confused glance while Meredith watched on looking completely shocked. Zola was smiling and giggling at Derek covering her ears. For a few moments Callie just stood, staring at nothing. Mark's eyes fell to the ground again. The silence was beginning to consume him. Eventually Meredith walked over to Callie and directed her towards the day care, holding Zola's hand. Derek walked over to Mark and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. They stood like that for a few minutes.

"It's going to be oka-"Derek began to reassure Mark.

"Mark?" Unintentionally interrupting Derek, Lexie's eyes started to open. She sat up slowly, looking around the room. Mark jolted up at the sound of her voice and ran to her side.

"Lex! You're awake!" He exclaimed, kissing her hands again. "I love you. I love you so much. Thank you for not dying on me."

"Y-you're welcome?"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>This is a much longer chapter but I just kept writing and wouldn't stop! For those of you that managed to read to the end... first, congratulations! Second, I'm sure you are probably getting sick of Callie being mad at everyone all the time... Teddy and now Mark! But not to worry, I think it will just bring her and Mark closer ;) What do you think?!

Anyway, thank you for still reading! I'm enjoying just being able to write whatever I want! I'm in control! What happens to these characters is up to me, and it's very empowering. As always, I would appreciate any criticism and comments! I read all of your reviews and take into account what you guys write :-) I also incorporate your opinions into the direction of the story! So thank you all! Xoxo


	12. The Reunion

Lexie had been awake for a couple of hours now. Mark hadn't left her side even once. During that time, a few different people had popped in and out of the room to see her. Meredith was the first visitor. As soon as she had heard that Lexie was waking up she had rushed to her room.

"Lexie!" She exclaimed happily, running to her side and squeezing her hand. "You're awake."

Lexie smiled warmly at her sister, "I'm awake." She repeated happily.

Soon after Meredith had arrived, Derek arrived with Zola in his arms. At the sight of Lexie sitting up and smiling, Zola beamed and tried to climb out of Derek's arms. He picked up on it and put her down and watched as she ran straight to Lexie's side. Lexie beamed before she tried to lift Zola up onto her bed. She struggled and a shot of pain went through her body. Lexie tried to hide her discomfort but Mark noticed and lifted Zola up for her.

"Not quite as strong as you were before, number three?" A familiar voice asked from outside the room. Lexie felt as if she were back to being an intern. It had been a few years since she had been referred to as "number three".

"Cristina!" Meredith exclaimed happily, standing up and running over to her. For a split moment she paused. Cristina wasn't one to hug, but Meredith realised she didn't care and hugged her anyway. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to check up on Little Grey of course." Cristina winked at Lexie before she laughed, reluctantly hugging her best friend back. "And to see devil spawn."

Meredith's happy expression faded. She had filled Cristina in on Lexie's state but she hadn't mentioned Alex's. Cristina picked up on Meredith's expression and nodded knowingly. For a moment they both stood in silence before Cristina walked over to Lexie.

"How are you feeling, Grey?"

"I'm better, thank you." Lexie responded, smiling at Cristina. She knew not to go into too much detail with Cristina. "How are you and Owen?"

"Well I'm glad you're feeling okay!" Cristina said speaking fast and sounding a little too enthusiastic. "I'm going to go and check up on Karev now, okay? I'll check up on you again later."

Everyone in the room picked up on the fact that Cristina had avoided Lexie's question about Owen. Meredith shot Lexie, Derek and Mark a confused glance before she followed Cristina out of the room.

"Well…" Derek began as soon as Cristina and Meredith were out of sight, "I should probably take Zola to day care. I have a consult with Karev later…"

"How is he doing?" Lexie asked hesitantly. Each time she thought of Karev, she had to fight her thoughts. They would keep jumping back to the way Alex had squeezed her hand right before they crashed. She didn't want to think about the crash.

"He's…" Derek considered sugar coating Alex's condition for Lexie, but Mark shot him a look that told him not to. "He's in a coma still. I'm going to check it out and we'll go from there. I'll let you know any news as soon as I know."

Lexie let out a sad sigh as she cuddled with Zola. Mark and Derek exchanged worried glances as they all sat in silence. Eventually Lexie kissed Zola on the forehead and let Derek lift her up.

"I'll come and check up on you again soon, okay?" Derek flashed his million dollar smile before he turned around and made his way towards the nearest elevator.

"He'll be okay," Mark whispered, kissing Lexie's hands lovingly. "Karev will be okay."

A big smile spread across Lexie's face. She stared at Mark and took him all in. They were alone in her room now. They had been alone for hours before as well. Lexie would be lying if she said she didn't love all the attention Mark was giving her. She loved waking up to his head resting against her hospital bed. She just loved being able to wake up next to him again. Lexie scooted over in her bed and patted the empty space next to her.

"Hold me, Mark?"

Mark didn't waste any time. Within seconds he had crawled into Lexie's hospital bed. He wrapped his arms around her and watched as she rested her head against his chest. Mark smiled down at her before kissing her hair.

"I will always love you, Lexie Grey."

"I will always love you too."

* * *

><p>The hospital had been a mess after the car crash. Seattle Grace Mercy West was down a resident and an attending. Paediatrics was going crazy now that Karev wasn't there to keep it under control. Teddy had spent the past few days trying to find a suitable candidate to take over for Alex. It was harder than she had thought. Even though Karev wasn't the friendliest or most likeable person, he was the best paediatric surgeon that Teddy knew. That fact made it more difficult for her to decide on someone. When Teddy had been notified that Lexie was awake, she was on the phone with a possible replacement. When the phone call had ended, Teddy stood up from her desk, picked up her pager and walked towards the door. Just as she was about to turn the door knob to leave, there was a knock on the door.<p>

"Teddy?" A very familiar voice caused Teddy to open the door faster than she ever had before. When the door had opened, Teddy was faced with the smiling face of Owen Hunt.

"You asshole!" She squealed happily as she wrapped her arms around him, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming to visit?"

* * *

><p>When Meredith and Cristina had arrived at Karev's room, Callie was already there. Her back was turned to the door as she sat awkwardly next to Alex, talking to him as if he were awake.<p>

"Can you believe he admitted that?" Callie asked, laughing to herself sarcastically. "Who admits that they left their friend to die?"

Meredith and Cristina looked at each other awkwardly as they stood outside the door just watching and listening to Callie. For a few minutes that's all they could think to do. They exchanged uncomfortable glances before Meredith nudged Cristina towards Callie.

"What?" Cristina groaned, facing Meredith. "Why do I have to talk to her?"

"I'm sure as hell not talking to her. She tried to beat me up once!" Meredith responded, turning around and walking away as fast as possible, "Have fun!" She yelled as she turned a corner.

Cristina rolled her eyes and walked slowly towards Callie. When she was a few steps away, she placed an awkward hand on Callie's shoulder. Cristina wasn't sure what she was going to do or say but when Callie turned around, she jumped.

"Not now, Yang." Callie said, shaking her hand away. "I'm busy."

"Talking to an unconscious Karev?" Cristina responded blankly, watching as Callie started to frown, "Not that I have anything against that. An unconscious Alex is better than a conscious one."

Callie continued to frown at Cristina. She didn't want her there. Cristina was the last person she wanted to be around in this moment.

"Look…" Cristina began softly, looking Callie straight in the eyes. "I'm not good at this… comforting thing. So I won't try to comfort you or make you feel better."

"Good," Callie replied, turning her back to Cristina. "You can go now."

"But," Cristina walked over to the other side of Alex's bed and stood awkwardly, trying to keep eye contact with Callie. "I was there when the plane crashed. I saw both Robbins and Little Grey that day. I also saw Sloan. Even if he had chosen to find Arizona first… he would have been too late. There was nothing anyone could have done."

"Are you really defending Mark right now?"

"I'm not defending anyone." Cristina's voice was cold and hard as usual, but there was a hint of compassion towards Callie. "But you can't play the blame game with Mark. He managed to save Lexie and he did everything he could for your wife."

Callie rolled her eyes and broke eye contact with Cristina. She was too angry to listen to anything that was being said. All Callie knew was that Mark left her wife to die. Cristina watched on as Callie's face flashed a myriad of emotions again: hurt, sadness and then anger.

"But that's the thing, Cristina!" Callie was fuming now. "He didn't do everything. He heard her screams and he chose to ignore them."

Cristina was getting bored now. She could tell she wasn't getting through to Callie. It wasn't her job to make her feel better.

"I'm not going to try and convince you to stop being mad at Mark," Cristina started to walk towards the door. Once she was there and about to leave, she turned and looked Callie dead in the eyes. "But think about it, Callie. If you were in Mark's situation and you heard his screams and Arizona's screams, who would you save?"

Callie watched as Cristina shot her a weak smile before she left the room. Cristina's question had hit her hard.

"I know she's got a point, Karev." Callie picked up her pager and started to leave the room, "But you don't need to point that out."

* * *

><p>For the rest of the day, Meredith and Cristina checked on Alex every couple of hours. Each time there were no significant changes to his state. He was still in a coma.<p>

"This is totally depressing," Cristina whispered to Meredith as they stood on either side of his bed. "I can't make fun of him when he's in a coma. It's no fun."

"Cristina!" Meredith shot her a disapproving look.

"What, Mer?" Cristina shot her a bored look in response. "It's not like he can hear us… Wait, or can he?"

Cristina leaned in closer to Alex until her face was practically touching his. She stayed like that for a few seconds before pulling back.

"Nope, devil spawn is definitely still in a coma."

Meredith let out a laugh before kissing Alex on the forehead. They both stood in silence for a few more minutes before turning to leave.

"I'm hungry," Cristina groaned as they walked the door, "Let's go eat."

Once Meredith and Cristina were out of sight, a tall blonde figure emerged in front of Alex's room. The figure stood hesitantly for a moment before deciding to walk in. The room was silent except for the quiet sounds of the machine that Alex was connected to. The blonde character stood silently, just watching as Alex's chest moved up and down.

"You're really in a coma, huh?" The figure took a seat next to Alex's bed and grabbed his hand to squeeze it. "You're going to hate me if you ever wake up and see that I'm here… but I had to see you."

More silence. It took a moment for the figure to find the courage to speak again. Their voice was low and quiet but unmistakably loving.

"Alex…" There was a slight pause before they spoke again, "It's me. It's Izzie. I'm here."


	13. Forgiveness

Izzie had arrived at Seattle Grace Mercy West last night. When she walked in through the familiar doors, she found herself surrounded by unfamiliar faces. There were new nursing staff, new interns and pretty much new everyone. Izzie wasn't sure what she had expected. It had been a couple of years since she made the decision to leave for good. Alex had told her to leave. Meredith had begged her to stay. For some reason she thought they would both be waiting for her when she arrived. A small part of her also thought… and hoped that George would be there too. What she found however were flocks of unknown individuals rushing around reading charts or pushing crash carts. Izzie stood still for a few minutes, taking in her familiar and equally unfamiliar surroundings. When she had been standing there for a while looking puzzled and out of a place, an intern approached her.

"Hi," The brown-haired, beautiful intern said warmly, smiling at Izzie. "Can I help you? Are you lost?"

Izzie pondered on this for a second. She definitely wasn't lost. Even though she hadn't been at the hospital for a couple of years now, she still knew the way around like the back of her hand. She pondered, however, if this intern could actually help her.

"I'm looking for…" Izzie paused for a moment. If she asked for Alex directly, the intern might tell her superiors that a tall blonde was asking for Karev. Or worse, she might find another attending to help her instead. "I'm looking for a bathroom! Could you help me with that?"

The beautiful brunette stared at Izzie, not even trying to hide her confusion. She smiled awkwardly before nodding and signalling for Izzie to follow her.

"Not to be rude," The intern said, trying to keep her voice from sounding judgemental, "But you drove to a hospital just to use the bathroom?"

Izzie smiled to herself. This intern gave her a good vibe. She wasn't afraid to point out how odd Izzie was being. She also still chose to show her where the bathroom was even though she probably had better things to do. Izzie knew for a fact that the intern had something better to do. When they arrived at the bathroom doors, Izzie stuck out her hand.

"I'm Isobel Stevens," She said, smiling at the intern warmly. "I'm actually a little surprised you led me to these bathrooms. Don't you know there are some on the floor below too? They're a bit hidden, but they are definitely there."

"I'm Jo Wilson," Jo shook Izzie's hand and smiled back awkwardly, "I didn't take you to that bathroom because that's where all the female interns hide from their superiors... I wasn't sure if you'd be interested in seeing that."

Izzie laughed.

"So, Jo. Why did you take the time out of your busy day to lead a complete stranger to the bathroom?"

"I have a feeling you needing to go to the bathroom is not the only reason that you're here."

Izzie's smile faded from her face. She knew that this intern was smarter than she looked. She was intuitive. For a moment Izzie pondered whether or not to just tell Jo that she was looking for Alex. People were bound to find out she were here sooner or later.

"You're smart," Izzie said, taking a step closer to Jo so that she could whisper, "I'm looking for Alex Karev."

Jo rolled her eyes before replying, "Dr. Karev?"

"Yeah…" Izzie smiled sadly to herself. "Can you take me to his room? I heard he was in a car crash."

"Sure, follow me."

_24 hours later._

Izzie had fallen asleep next to Alex's bed. She made a long trip the night before to come and see him. It wasn't until she was alone in his dark room that she realised how tired she had been. Nurses came in occasionally to check in on Alex but they all left her alone and let her sleep. Some of the nurses recognised her and soon the word that Dr. Stevens was back at Seattle Grace was spreading like wild fire.

* * *

><p>Later in the morning, Meredith had come back to see Alex. When she was dropping off Zola at day care, she overheard some nurses saying that a crazy doctor was back. Neither of the nurses knew her name, all they knew was that she cut an LVAD wire to save her patient boyfriend. Meredith put Zola down and approached the nurses. She knew of only one doctor at the hospital who had cut an LVAD wire.<p>

"Hey, what was that about someone cutting an LVAD wire?" Meredith whispered, slowly approaching the two nurses.

The nurses exchanged glances before they explained what they had heard.

"Where did the other nurses say this said doctor was?"

"Apparently she is visiting Dr. Karev," One of the nurses blurted out, clearly enjoying the small gossip. "Rumour has it they used to be an item before she left."

That was the last piece of evidence that Meredith needed to know who the doctor was. Before she left the day care to go to Alex's room, Meredith called Cristina. If she was going to go check it out, she wanted Cristina to be there with her.

It didn't take long for Cristina to get to the hospital. She had spent the night at Meredith's old house and was already on her way. When she arrived, Meredith filled her in on what was going on. Without speaking a word, they both made their way for Alex's room. When they arrived, Meredith and Cristina stood outside his door, staring at the figure next to his bed. Both of them were speechless.

"I thought this was just nurse gossip," Cristina breathed, not taking her eyes off of the blonde woman sleeping next to Alex. "I didn't think Izzie would actually be here."

"Why _is_ she here?" Meredith questioned, narrowing her eyes. "She left us. She left Alex. Why would she come back?"

Cristina pondered on this for a moment before speaking again.

"I don't know… but I can't wait until Evil spawn wakes up. He's going to be so mad. It'll be hilarious."

Meredith nudged Cristina with her hip disapprovingly while trying to hold in a laugh. They both stood there for a few minutes, not really sure what to do or say. They both exchanged confused glances as they stood in silence.

"Wanna go eat?" Cristina asked after a few more minutes of silence.

"Yeah, I do."

* * *

><p>Teddy and Owen had spent the whole day working on Chief duties. Even though Teddy wanted to take the day off to catch up with her best friend, she still had a bucket load of work to do. Owen being Owen offered to help her out.<p>

"You really want to help me with this stuff?" Teddy looked at Owen sceptically. "Shouldn't you be spending time with your wife?"

Owen flinched. He tried to hide his obvious discomfort with a cheerful smile but Teddy could see right through him.

"Spit it out, Owen." She demanded, putting down the pile of paperwork she was sorting.

"Not here…" He said softly, placing the documents in his hand on the desk. "Let's go to Joe's. I need a drink."

Teddy agreed to call it a night and go to Joe's. They had spent the whole day working on Chief duties. When they arrived at Joe's, they found a table to sit at together. Teddy ordered a drink for the both of them.

"So what's going on?" Teddy reached her hand over and placed it over Owen's. She squeezed it lovingly. Owen smiled sadly at the ground in response. When his drink arrived, Owen chugged most of it down. Teddy watched as he devoured most of it within seconds.

"Cristina…" Owen flinched again. Teddy watched on as Owen's face showed a myriad of emotions: sadness, anger, hurt and finally acceptance.

"Cristina wants a divorce." Owen looked up from his glass. His sad eyes met Teddy's sad eyes. They stared at each other in silence for a few minutes before Teddy finally spoke.

"W-why is she divorcing you?"

"I want kids and… she still won't even consider it." Owen stood up and walked over to the bar to order another drink. Teddy sat at the table in silence, thinking of what to say to him. She loved both Owen and Cristina but she always had a feeling that it would end eventually. When Owen came back to the table, Teddy grabbed his hand again.

"Cristina is the love of your life," She began, squeezing his hand and smiling at him warmly. "She will always be an important person in your life. But there comes a point where you need to decide what you want more, kids or Cristina?"

"I want _both_. I want kids _with_ Cristina." Owen took another big sip of his drink. She knew that tonight was not the night that she was going to get through to him.

"I know…" She breathed, wrapping both her hands around his. "I'm sorry it isn't working out."

Owen smiled at her hands before he took another sip of his drink. Teddy noticed hers was empty and walked over to the bar. When she got there, she noticed Callie sitting at the bar by herself. Teddy picked up her drink and walked over to Callie who was taking a shot of tequila.

"Something bad must have happened," Teddy joked, taking a seat next to Callie. "A shot of tequila so early into the night?"

Callie smiled sarcastically at Teddy as she placed her shot glass back on the table. They both sat in silence for a while. Teddy was about to get up and go back to Owen when Callie opened her mouth.

"I think I was wrong to blame Mark for Arizona's death." Callie admitted, leaning her elbow against the bar. Teddy sat and stared, admiring Callie's beautiful features - her perfectly groomed eyebrows, her tanned skin and her stunning eyes.

"I was wrong, wasn't I?" Callie was staring Teddy in the eyes now, looking impatient.

"O-oh, um yeah I guess so." Teddy blushed. She had been distracted by Callie's beauty.

"I'm going to go apologise…" Callie decided, standing up and taking her coat. "Thanks, Teddy!"

Teddy watched as Callie exited Joe's bar, flashing Teddy a bright smile before the door closed behind her. Owen approached Teddy at the bar and followed her gaze. He noticed as he watched Callie and Teddy interact that Teddy couldn't keep her eyes off of Callie.

"Is something going on between you two?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Don't even try to lie to me, Altman. Do you want there to be something going on between you and Callie?"

"I-I… _Yes_."

* * *

><p>"Mark?" Callie tapped Mark gently on the shoulder. He was asleep on a chair next to Lexie's bed. Callie felt bad waking him up, but she had to apologise as soon as possible.<p>

"Mark, wake up." She whispered into his ear, rocking him gently. She tried to be as quiet as she could. She wanted to wake Mark up, but she didn't want to wake Lexie. After a few more gentle nudges, Mark woke up. His eyes opened slowly but when he saw Callie standing over him, he sat up fast.

"T-torres." He whispered, blinking his eyes a few times. Mark hadn't expected to see Callie so soon after she yelled at him in front of the whole hospital. "W-what's up?"

Callie rolled her eyes and pulled a chair up next to him. She grabbed his hands in hers and smiled. Mark flinched. He assumed that she was going to break his hands.

"Oh stop being a baby, Mark." Callie laughed, squeezing his hands gently. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Well after what happened…" Mark responded jokingly, squeezing her hands back. "I don't know what to expect from you, Torres. I'm honestly a little bit scared of you."

Callie hit Mark jokingly before her smile faded. She stared at Mark seriously for a few moments before she thought of what to say.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you in front of everybody…" She said, looking down at the ground. Callie hated apologising. "I shouldn't blame you for Arizona's death. It wasn't your fault."

Mark squeezed Callie's hands again and smiled at her lovingly, "Finally. It took you long enough to apologise!"

"You are such an asshole."

Mark laughed as he stood up. He signaled for Callie to stand up too. As soon as she was on her feet, Mark wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug. They stood in silence for a while, just enjoying the embrace. Callie was the first one to break the silence.

"I-I want to know exactly what happened the day of the crash... In detail this time," She breathed as she grabbed Mark's shirt and squeezed it. Callie looked up at Mark pleadingly, "Can you talk me through what happened?"

Mark smiled weakly at Callie as he ended their embrace. "Are you sure you want to know?"

As soon as Callie nodded, Mark was explaining what happened. He told Callie about hearing the two screams and decided in a split moment to follow Lexie's. He explained how he did all he could for Lexie and as soon as he finished, he went straight to Arizona.

"Can I continue?" He asked, squeezing Callie's hand. Her breathing was short and sharp. Mark wasn't sure he should keep talking about this, but Callie nodded and he kept talking. Mark told Callie about the state Arizona was in. He told her about how he, Meredith, Derek and Cristina did everything in their power to help Arizona.

"I-I even knew that she was stuck under the back of the plane…" Callie whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "I knew that there was nothing that anyone could have done but it still hurt when I heard what you said to Lexie."

"You shouldn't have had to hear about how I picked Lexie over Arizona…" Mark began, looking Callie dead in the eyes, "But you know that I would be lying if I said that I wouldn't do it again if I had to."

Mark kept his gaze on Callie to show he wasn't trying to be mean or hurtful. He was just being honest. He needed his best friend to know that he didn't let her wife die without a good reason. Callie took a deep breath and shut her eyes. Hearing the words again hit her like a tonne of bricks, but she knew that it was the truth and the truth hurts.

"I know," She responded, lifting her gaze to meet his. "I understand, Mark. I would have done the same thing. No one should have to make a decision like that… but you had to."

Mark's breathing stopped for a split second as his mind flashed back to the hardest choice he had ever had to make. Mark felt his stomach drop as he relived the panic and sadness he felt when his legs started moving in the opposite direction of Robbin's screams. Callie was right; it wasn't a decision anyone should have to make. Mark felt tears starting to form in his eyes. He tried to wipe them away before they fell, but he was too slow. Tears started to roll down his face as he continued to relive the hardest decision of his life.

"Oh, _Mark_!" Callie watched on heartbroken as Mark broke down into tears. She watched as he fell against the chair beneath him. Mark let his heavy head fall into his hands as he cried silently. Callie watched on for a few seconds before she crouched down next to his chair. She grabbed his hand and kissed it affectionately.

"Mark, you are one of the best people I know." Callie kissed his hand again. "You are an amazing father. You are an amazing surgeon and teacher at this hospital. You had to make one of the hardest decisions a person will ever have to make in their life… But it's over now. You made the decision. It's time for you to forgive yourself and move on with your life. I _forgive_ you."

Mark and Callie sat in silence. After a while Mark stopped crying. Callie sat on the ground with her head resting against Mark's legs. Callie was once again the one to break the silence.

"So are you going to have to re-propose to Lexie?" She asked, letting her head fall back against his leg. Mark's eyebrows furrowed above his eyes. He wasn't expecting a question like that.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused. Callie sat up straight and turned to face Mark. He looked down at her, confusion spread across his face.

"Well, you didn't do what you did for nothing right?" She responded, raising her eyebrows for effect. "You love this girl. Now that you are moving past everything that happened with Arizona… Shouldn't you and Lexie be re-engaged or something?"

Before Mark could respond, Callie's pager went off. She looked at it and cursed under her breath as she stood up abruptly. As she turned to leave the room, Mark spoke.

"You just want Sofia to be a flower girl!"

Callie turned at the door to wink at Mark, "She'll make the cutest flower girl ever! Think about it, Mark."

Mark watched as Callie left, smiling to himself. When he turned to face Lexie again, he was alarmed to see that her eyes were open. There were tear stains against her delicate face. Mark rushed to her side and wiped the tears away with his thumb.

"Lex? How long have you been awake?"

"I-I'm sorry. I couldn't fall asleep… a-and when Callie came in your conversation became serious and I didn't want to ruin the moment."

Mark laughed as he climbed into Lexie's bed. Lexie smiled and placed her head against his chest. Mark wrapped his arm around her and kissed her hair.

"You heard everything?"

Lexie nodded. They both lay there for a few moments, just listening to each other's breathing. Lexie shut her eyes as she breathed in the moment. Mark started to stroke her hair.

"The answer is yes."

Mark stopped stroking her hair as his eyebrows furrowed above his eyes again, "What are you talking about, Lex?"

"If you re-propose I mean…" She responded awkwardly, blushing into Mark's chest. "The answer will be yes."


End file.
